The Guardian
by Mr. Nuclear
Summary: Water. Earth. Fire. Air. It was always said that Avatar was the only one that was able to master all four elements. But what if there was more to the legends. Was the avatar really able to bring peace on his own?
1. The Mysterious Two

**I'm back! If any of you are wondering, yes I did in fact change my name. Why? Because I can so deal with it. You may be wondering why the fuck am I starting a new story when I have two other waiting to be updated. Lets just say that after writing a few chapters ahead and then having those chapter mysteriously disappear, you lose motivation to write them all over.**

 **This story was something that I had for a long time and I wrote it but I told myself that no one would like it so I scrapped it. No sure if any of you like it but it may just be one chapter or I may continue it.**

 **I have written a lot of chapters for many crossovers and I may post them to see what you guys think but for now this is all you get.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Avatar. It sucks writing that every single time.

* * *

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.

Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world.

XxX

 **Book 1: Water**

 **Chapter 1: The Mysterious Two**

In the middle of an icy water floated a canoe carrying two people. A young teenage boy with a ponytail holding a spear was carefully watching the water. He was waiting for a fish to fall into a perfect position so he could strike it. On the other side of the canoe sat a girl who looked on in amusement. Her brother didn't allow her to help because he always felt that a man should bring the food home.

Sokka noticed a fish about to resurface the water, "This time you're mine. Watch and learn Katara. You're about to see how a real man catches a fish." He was honestly getting real sick of coming out here.

Katara wasn't one to pay attention to her brother so she decided to do it her own way. She took off her gloves and slowly bended the water. A globe of water containing a fish came out of the water, "Sokka Look!" Her waterbending wasn't the best but she practiced when she could to make sure that she was at least decent at it.

Sokka noticed the fish was getting a bit spooked by her sisters loud voice, "Shhh! Katara you're scaring it."

She didn't hear his words because she was proud of herself for catching one. She noticed that the ball of water was suddenly losing its shape. She struggled to control it but it was all too late as it burst, "Ah! No!"

Sokka sighed when he felt the water splash all over him, "Why is it always me? Why am I always the victim when you decide to do your little magic." This wasn't the first time that he had gotten wet when she waterbending. In fact, he was always the one to get wet. Even when he was nowhere near her, he somehow always got wet.

Katara crossed her arms, "It's not magic. It's waterbe-"

"Yeah, Yeah, an ancient culture blah blah blah. I heard it all before. Just please keep your powers to yourself." He heard the same thing so many times that he had memorized the whole speech on how great it was.

Suddenly the boat began to move around and they noticed that the icebergs were starting to get really close to the canoe. Sokka was quick to react and began rowing as fast as he could. The further that he rowed the more icebergs appeared and he was starting to get scared at what may happen.

Katara saw a quick opening, "Quick! Go Left! Left!" She quickly held onto her brother when he went the opposite direction.

Sokka was panicking at this point because he was actually doubting that they would make it. The Icebergs were getting closer and closer every time they avoided one. After being able to avoid some, three Icebergs blocked them and began to crush the canoe. Sokka grabbed Katara and jumped off the canoe to a nearby iceberg.

They both laid there for a few seconds before Katara spoke up, "You call that left?"

"Don't like my steering? Well maybe you should've used your waterbending to get us out." They honestly wouldn't be in this situation if she helps out there.

"Oh so now this is my fault?" She was starting to get really frustrated towards Sokka.

Sokka scratched his head in frustration, "I knew I should've left you home. Leave it to a girl to screw things up."

That was the final straw for Katara, "Are you serious!" She began to wave her arms back in anger, "You are the most sexist, immature…" The water behind Katara started to splash around.

As she continued ranting Sokka notices the iceberg behind her begin to crack, "Um, Katara…"

"No, that's it. From now on your on your own!" A crack behind her suddenly caught her attention.

As she turned, the iceberg behind her slits open entirely. It caused huge waves that pushed them back. They held on to the ice berg desperately trying their best not to fall off. After a few seconds the waters calm down and they were drifting once again.

Katara looked on in amazement, "I did that?"

"Seriously? That's what you're worried about?" They almost died but all she worries is about whether she split an iceberg. He could've died there…

They noticed that a blue light begins to glow under the water. The poked their heads out to try to make of what the light is. The light began to get brighter. Seconds later The unknown source of the light began to surface. A huge glowing sphere of ice came out of the water.

Katara squinted her eyes to try to make sense of the glowing iceberg. She noticed that a figure was the source of the glow. Its eyes suddenly opened causing Katara to take action, "There's someone in there!" She takes Sokka's club and begins head towards the iceberg.

Sokka followed her, "Katara wait! What if it's dangerous?" These are one of the many reasons he hates going out with her.

She ignored his warning and continued. After skipping a few icebergs she finally arrived at the one where the boy was trapped in. She quickly begins to pound the ice with the spear. After a few whacks, the icebergs begins to crack open. Air was suddenly released out and then a bright blue light shot out into the sky.

XxX

(Somewhere miles away)

Miles away was an Iron hulled battleship carefully sailing down the icy waters. A man stood and stared at the lights. His attire consisted of a red armour worn only by the fire nation. His head was almost all shaved, all except a ponytail. His most noticeable feature was the red scar on his left eye. This teenager was known by many as prince Zuko, "Uncle do you know what this means?"

An old man sat down looking at his game, ' _Here we go again.'_ He was tired of hearing that phrase at this point, "It means I won't get to finish my game?"

"No, It means that my search is finally over." All this time searching would finally come to an end.

Iroh groaned, "Don't get your hopes up so Zuko. We've been down this road before." He quickly took a sip of his tea, "Now come and enjoy a cup of calming tea."

Zuko erupted in anger, "I Don't need any calming jasmine tea! Helmsman, head a course for that light!"

He wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away from him. It was finally time he had a chat with the Avatar.

XxX

Sokka protected Katara from the light and was ready incase anything happened. The light continued to shine until a boy appeared. The arrows on his body were still glowing. Sokka pointed his spear at the boy, "Stop!"

The arrows stopped glowing and he began to fall forward. Katara ran towards the boy and caught him. She turns him over and gently laid him on his back. She noticed that the boy's eyes were slowly opening.

The bald boy smiled at the sight of Katara, "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Please… Come closer."

Katara carefully got closer, "What is it?"

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

Katara was a bit taken back by the sudden burst of energy, "Uh… sure, I guess."

He used his airbending to lift himself to his feet. Sokka was still suspicious that he could be an enemy. He walked over to him and began to poke him, "Why aren't you frozen?" Sokka had been observing Aang and was actually amazed that the kid was still alive. No normal person could survive being frozen especially at the bottom of below zero waters.

He pushed Sokka's spear away, "I'm not sure." He was just as lost as any of them.

A low growl is heard behind the young airbender, "Appa!" He quickly pushes himself into the ice crater. As he hops over he sees a giant furry creature, "I'm so glad you're okay."

"What is that thing?" He has never seen something like that out here.

The boy continued to pat the furry beast, "This is Appa, my flying bison."

Sokka had a real hard time believing that, "And this is Katara my flying sister." Before the bald monk had a chance to respond Appa begins sneezes and gets snot it all over Sokka, "Why is it always me!?"

This was officially the worst day of his life.

Katara walked over, "Sorry about my brother he's a bit paranoid. By the way you never told us your name."

"Oh, my name is A… ahhhhh… ahhhh… ah ah ACHOOOO!" The sneeze cause him to fly ten feet into the air. The two sibling stood there in shock until he landed on the ground, "I'm Aang."

Both Sokka and Katara stood still with their mouths wide opened. Sokka pointed at Aang, "You just sneezed… and flew ten feet in the air. That's not normal."

A huge smile appeared on Katara's face, "You're an airbender!"

"Sure am." It honestly wasn't a big deal. Other kids at the air temple sneezed higher than that.

Sokka watched the two have a conversation and sighted, "I just want to go home and eat."

When he went out this morning he was expecting to just get some fish to eat. Who was he to believe that he would stumble upon a bald kid and his pet bison. It honestly couldn't get any worse than this.

Looking around, Sokka noticed a figure behind Appa, "Hey Katara. Come check this out." They all walk over to the figure that laid on the snow. He looked no older than thirteen. He was dressed in a black long sleeve shirt and black pants. He also had black boots to match. Bandages were wrapped around both his wrist. He had blond spiky hair and three whisker marks on his cheeks.

Katara went over to the mysterious boy to check on him, "Looks like he's okay." She turned towards Aang, "Do you know who this is?"

Aang shook his head, "I don't know. I didn't even know he was there until now." It was just him and Appa. He didn't remember anyone else being with him.

Sokka flipped the boy over to make sure he won't attack them while their backs were turned, "Looks like he's still unconscious. You sure he's not with you?"

Aang shook his head, "I swear, I don't know who he is."

Katara crossed her arms, "Let's get him back to the village. We can't just leave him out here." She wasn't the kind of person to leave someone helpless out here to die.

"Are you crazy! We can't just let strangers back to our village." He wouldn't allow random people they just met into his village. They both stared at each other for a few seconds before Sokka sighed, "Fine! But one wrong move and their out!"

Katara smiled at her brother. He may be strict but she knew he was still a softy at heart, "Hey Aang, you think Appa could give us a lift?"

Aang smiled at the girl and used his airbending to get on top of Appa, "Sure get on."

After securing the boy on Appa, they were all ready to go, "Alright, here we go. Appa, yip yip!" Appa rumbles and jumps off the ice berg. For a few short seconds he was in the air but then began to fall into the water.

Sokka crossed his arms and began to speak in sarcasm, "Wow, this is so amazing."

Aang chuckled nervously, "He's just tired. Once he's all rested he'll be able to fly in no time."

XxX

"Ahhhhh!"

Aang looked at his surrounding to make sure that he was in a safe place. The flashback from when he ran away from the temple came back to him. He honestly didn't want to remember that. He sighed and looked at his hands. Why did it have to be him? He didn't ask for this.

"What a way to wake up."

Aang looked to his left and saw the boy that they had found next to him. He was currently shirtless and had bandages wrapped around his stomach. Katara must have patched him up when he was out.

They boy in question sat crossed leg a next to him, "So, what were you doing out there by yourself?"

Aang was confused by the question because he had no idea what he was talking about, "Huh?"

The blond boy sighed and smiled, "Listen I don't know where I am or what's going on but I'm glad you're safe." He patted Aang's back, "Name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

Glad he was safe? Aang was completely lost at what he was saying, "What ar-"

"Aang! Wake up!" Katara poked her head inside and noticed that they were both up, "Oh, You're up too. Well, get ready and come outside. Everyone wants to meet you two."

Naruto waved at her and gave her a grin, "Well be out in a second."

Katara wasn't expecting an answer from him so she simply smiled back and left. Naruto stood up and put on his black long sleeve shirt. He took a green necklace out of his pocket and put it over his head. He took a deep breathe and began to walk out.

Before he opened the curtain he noticed Aang was looking at him, "You better hurry monk boy, your girlfriends waiting for you."

"She's not my girlfriend."

Naruto chuckled, "Just hurry up and get ready."

After stepping outside, Naruto blocked the sun with his hands. It was so bright and really cold. He took a look at his surroundings and realized that there was snow everywhere . Well, Now he's was sure he wasn't in the fire nation territory. Aang came out of the hut and and noticed how all the villagers were staring at him.

"Uh… what's going on?"

Naruto was still trying to guess where he was, "Beats me kid. I'm just as lost as you."

An old woman suddenly walked in front of the group, "No one has seen an airbender in a hundred years and everyone thought that they were extinct."

How could they be extinct? He must have been out for a week or so, "Extinct?"

Katara noticed how nervous he was getting, "Aang and…"

"Naruto."

"Aang and Naruto this is my grandmother."

The old woman spoke once more, "Just call me gran gran."

Naruto whistled as he looked around, "Small village you got here. Where are we by the way?" Finding his location was more important at the moment.

Sokka walked in front of Naruto and poke him with his club, "You're in the southern water tribe so don't go doing anything funny."

"Don't worry I'm harmless." He observed Sokka for a few seconds, "Let me guess you're one of the last warriors in this village."

Sokka stared at him in shock, "How do you know?"

Naruto scratched his head, "Since the village is so small and I see no male adults around they are either hunting or they left to go somewhere."

Sokka had a sad look for a few seconds before going back to normal, "It's none of your business." He then stomped away with an annoyed expression.

Naruto didn't know it was a sensitive topic. He hoped he was okay. As he was looking around he noticed that some things weren't adding up. How could they get this far out when they weren't even that close to the southern water tribe.

Katara walked up to Naruto, "I'm sorry about him." She knew why Sokka was very upset and it bugged her to see him like this.

Naruto just smiled at her, "Don't worry, I must have hit a sensitive topic." He honestly didn't mean to say anything hurtful, "So tell me Katara, what can I do to find a boat around here?"

"You already want to leave?" Hes hasn't even been here that long and already wants to leave.

Naruto began to stroke some of his hair, "Sorry but I had to be somewhere before the whole iceberg incident and they are going to be pissed at at me if I don't show."

Naruto honestly didn't want to leave because they were kind enough to allow him into their small village. He would stay here for a while if he didn't have anything to do.

Katara shook her head, "I understand but the canoe that we had was one of our last one and it would take a while before we can make another one."

Naruto sucked on his teeth, change of plans, "It's fine, I'll manage somehow. In the meantime you don't mind if I stay here for a day or two."

"Stay as long as you like." She smiled at him and walked off in Aang's direction.

After a few hours, Naruto got really bored. The village was nice and the people were pretty cool about him being an outsider. His reputation went up after he decided to go fishing. He brought them week's worth of fish. If he was going to be here for a while he might as well make the best of it.

He saw Sokka sitting by a wall and sharpening his spear. Naruto kinda felt bad for bringing such a sensitive topic so he walked over him to apologize, "Hey Sokka."

Sokka looked up and noticed Naruto offering him cooked fish on a stick, "Hey and thanks." he took a bite out of it and was shocked on how good it tasted, "Woah, this Is delicious!"

Naruto watched in horror as Sokka devoured the fish, "Well my cooking isn't the best but I do try." Sokka stared at Naruto's fish on a stick and began to drool, "You can have it."

Sokka took it without a second thought and proceeded to eat it, "Sorry about that. I haven't eaten in awhile."

Naruto sat next to him, "Care to say why?"

Sokka rubbed his head, "Just a bit stressed out."

Naruto understood what he meant, "Sorry about before. I didn't know that was a sensitive topic."

Sokka sighted. He knew Naruto meant no harm in what he said it just annoyed him that he was truly the only left to protect the village, "It's fine. The truth just kind of hurts. Being left behind really sucks."

"Where are they anyways. How could they just leave you guys like this by yourself?" How can anyone leave their home and let them to fend off for themselves?

"They went to join the war." Sokka stopped sharpening his spear and set it down, "They didn't want to take me because I was so young."

His father was their tribe leader and once it was time to leave he wanted to go with them. He wanted to be out there helping those in need instead of just sitting here. The last thing his dad told him was to protect the village while he was away.

"War? What war?" He had no knowledge of any war.

XxX

(With Aang and Katara)

After Aang and Katara finished their penguin sledding race then ventured off and Aang discovered a ship that was trapped inside the ice. The nose end of the boat was sticking upwards to the sky. It seemed like it was there for a really long time.

Aang was very curious of the ship and decided to explore it. Katara had tried her best to not go in but Aang insisted that if she ever wanted to become a good bender then she had to let go of the fear that's holding her back. Her gran gran had insisted that they never go near that ship because of the dangers that it would hold. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

As they walked around the ship Aang noticed the creepy vibe that the ship was giving him, "This ship sure gives off a creepy feeling."

Katara nodded her head in agreement, "This ship has haunted my tribe since gran gran was a little girl." It had been here for a really long time time, "It part of the fire nation's first attack."

Aang stopped on his tracks and turned to her, "Okay, hold on for a second." Why did they keep talking about a war?, "I have friends from all over the world, even in the fire nation. I have never heard or seen any war."

Katara looked at Aang with wide eyes, "Wait… Aang how long were and Naruto in that iceberg?"

Aang looked at the floor unsure, "I don't know… a few days maybe. A week at most."

Katara paced around for a few seconds to try to come up the best way to explain it to him, "Aang, what if you weren't stuck in there for a few days. I feel like it's more than a hundred years."

XxX

No. No fucking way. That can't be fucking true, "You mean I was fucking frozen for a hundred damn years!"

Sokka looked at Naruto like he was crazy, "Seriously, what is with you two? First Aang and now you. The war. You didn't know it's been going on for a hundred years." The war was common knowledge. Everyone knew the dangers and fear that the fire lord brought upon the nations.

Naruto looked at the sky, "Damn, this is what I get for trying to save a drowning kid and his pet."

Drowning kid?, "You mean Aang?"

Naruto nodded his head, "Yea. I had decided to take a boat to my destination and choose to fish on the way there. The next thing I knew a storm hit and was fighting for my life. I saw someone falling from the sky. I immediately jumped in to save him."

"So what happened next?" This was getting a bit interesting.

"As I got closer he began to glow and trapped me with him in a ball of ice. I wasn't expecting it so I couldn't react in time." Because of this incident he missed the appointment that he had. He was late, one hundred years late.

Sokka patted the Naruto in the back, "Harsh but don't worry i'm sure you'll find something out here." It must have been really frightening waking up a century in the future. He himself wouldn't know what to do or how to react. Naruto was taking it well for someone in his situation, "Listen, I was suspicious about you two at first but that's because I'm the only one in this village so you have to understand.

Naruto smiled at him, "Don't worry Sokka, I get where you're coming from. I can see how small your village is and how much you care for it." The village had no one to protect it and in case of an attack they would be screwed.

Sokka was the only warrior in the village and that wouldn't be enough to protect anyone. Naruto wasn't underestimating Sokka, not one bit. He just knew that if anyone wanted to take the small village, it wouldn't stand a chance against a huge attack. He just hoped nothing would happened in the time that he was here.  
"So what's your plan now?"

Naruto held onto his legs and held them tightly, "I'm honestly not sure."

He was in the future and he had no common knowledge of anything that was going on. His first step was to gather information on the current year. He needed to know what had changed. All his information gatherers were long gone and probably thought that he had died.

He was back to step one. It took him thirteen years of his life to get to the position that he had and it was all thrown away in an instant. Did he regret trying to save Aang? No, it went against everything that he lived for. If he had the power to save people then he gladly would.

Something quickly caught Naruto's attention, "Uh Sokka?"

"Yea?"

"What is that?"

Sokka turned to where Naruto was pointing and noticed a flare up in the sky. He knew what that flare was and it was not good news, "Uh oh… "

"Uh oh? What do you mean oh oh?" That didn't sound good the way Sokka said it. This meant trouble.

"Uh oh as in that's a fire nation ship flare. That means that Aang did something and dragged my sister into it."

"C'mon Sokka, Just because of a flare in the sky doesn't mean Aang's involved." What could a bald twelve year old possibly have to do with a fire nation ship?

"You don't understand. There was a ship frozen in ice and it's forbidden to not go anywhere near it."

All the villagers got near the entrance of the village after seeing the flare. In the distance two figures appeared. Aang and Katara both walked side by side towards the village. The children saw Aang and immediately ran towards him.

"Yay, Aang's back!"

Sokka didn't share the same excitement as the kids, "You! I knew it! You were the one that signaled the fire navy with the flare! Your leading them right towards us!"

Naruto moved in between Aang and Sokka, "Calm down Sokka. There probably weren't even near the ship." Naruto paused for a few seconds before turning towards the two, "You weren't near that fire nation ship right?"

Aang looked away and began to whistle. Katara looked the down to hide her face. Naruto slapped his face, "Why do I even try? Sokka, this one's yours."

Gran gran wasn't happy about their decision making skills, "Katara you shouldn't have gone on that ship. We could all be in danger."

Sokka pointed at Gran gran in a dramatic fashion, "See! Even she agrees."

Aang noticed that the situations was starting to get out of hand, "Stop it. It wasn't her fault. It was mine."

Sokka wiggled his arms in the air, "Ah ha! So the traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy!" The kids all looked sad and walked back to the village, "You are now banned from this village."

Naruto decided to step into the conversation once again, "Woah, woah there." all the attention was now put on him, "Sokka I get that you're mad but is that really the best answer."

"Of course it is! Thanks to him the fire nation ship may be coming towards us. Its his fault that we might get attacked." He wasn't taking a traitor in. Thanks to him his people might die.

Katara wasn't letting anyone talk about Aang like that, "Sokka leave him alone! If your banishing him then I might as well go too."

"No Katara. I'm not letting you get kicked out of your home because of me." He didn't want her to get in trouble because of his doing.

Naruto sighed, now this situation was definitely getting out of hand, "Okay listen up! Nobody is getting banished." Everyone turned to him, "Listen Sokka, what are you going to do if the village does get attacked."

"I'm going to protect it of course." There wasn't any other option.

"With what?"

"I'm going to use my spear and defeat every single one of them." Sokka crossed his arms and had a confident grin on his face.

Naruto didn't say a word for a while. If was pure silence between the four of them. The villagers all looked at the four with a questioning look on their faces. They had no idea why it suddenly went quiet.

Sokka opened one eye to see why it suddenly got so quiet. Everyone was currently staring at him, "What?" He then thought about it for a second before realization hit him, "Oh… "

Naruto rolled his eyes at him, "Yea 'oh'. It's better to have an airbender and a waterbender having your back then you going at it by yourself. I get that you're mad but don't let that cloud your decision making."

Sokka sighed in defeat, "You're right." He hated to admit it but Naruto was right. He had to do what was best for the village and having Aang would really help, "He can stay but afterwards he has to leave."

Katara smiled at Sokka, "Oh Sokka." She ran up to him and hugged him.

Naruto stood next to Aang, "How come I don't get a hug?" It was his idea.

Aang shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay okay that's enough." Sokka pushed Katara off him, "We still have a situation on our hands. The fire nation might be on their way as we speak so we need to prepare. Aang, sorry about before but we could really use your help."

Aang nodded his head, "I will help as much as I can." Aang held no grudge against Sokka at all. He understood what Sokka had to do to protect the village.

Now that they had two benders he was sure they could hold him off, "Everyone get ready for battle."

The villagers heard him screaming and began to go inside their huts. They knew that they couldn't be much help so the best thing to do was hope for the best. Sokka was the only one capable of fighting. Sokka ran into his tent to get ready for the battle that laid ahead. Katara went around making sure that everyone was inside.

Both Naruto and Aang just stood in the middle of the village not really sure of what to do. They were outsiders so the best thing that they could do was wait for the battle to begin. They were only there to help protect the village. Naruto didn't have any of his weapons because they were all in the boat that he had left. They were one hundred years long gone. The only thing that he had were his two short swords that he always kept with him.

Naruto looked at his two blades and sighted, "All my stuff… " Anime tears came out of his eyes.

Aang looked at Naruto, "Why are you crying?"

Naruto glared at the airbender, "Seems that all my stuff is gone after trying to save a certain someone from death."

Aang cringed at the way he worded that, "Sorry about that."

Naruto sighed in defeat and shook his head, "It's not your fault. The whole one hundred years thing can really weigh on you."

Honestly who can wake up one day and find out their in the future and be totally okay with it. He had no knowledge of what went in those past hundred years and to add to that there was a freaking war going on. That made things even more complicated than they needed to be. It was a good thing that he didn't have any friends or family that were worried.

Aang nodded his head in agreement, "I know what you mean. Everything is so much more different than before. By the way what were you doing before all of this?" He was actually curious what Naruto did before he was frozen along with him. By the looks of the blades that he had he must have been some sort of warrior.

Naruto smiled at the question, "Oh well I was on my way to-"

"Are you two ready?"

Both Naruto and Aang turned and looked at Sokka. They both stared for a few seconds, "Pff!"

A tic mark appeared on Sokka's head, "What's so funny!"

Aang had his hand on his mouth to cover his laugh, "Whats with the make up?"

Sokka eye twitched, "Make up? It's war paint! War Paint!"

Naruto joined in on the fun, "Seems like Sokka was getting ready for his war date." The two burst out laughing.

Sokka gritted his teeth and stomped away, "Forget it. Just be ready."

After all the preparation was done and everyone was safe they all got into position. Sokka was on top of the snow wall and looked out into the sea to see if anything was visible. Everyone else just stood below and just watched and waited.

Naruto squinted his eyes, "Why is he up there?" Naruto was sure that it wasn't safe to be up there.

Aang shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe he's nearsighted and needs to move closer." All Aang got in a response was a chuckle from Naruto.

The ground suddenly began to shake. Sokka stood his ground and waited for something to appear. A shadow of the ship appeared and it was much bigger than Sokka thought. He was hoping for something smaller. He opened his mouth in pure shock. Fear took over as he continued to stand his ground. The ship tore the wall in half and was able to split the village before coming into a full stop.

Sokka noticed how close the ship was to him and ran back to where everyone was. He got into his fighting stance and prepared himself for whatever came out of that ship. All the villages who were curious came out of the huts and looked in shock at what was before them.

Steam came out of the nose of the ship and opened up. Seven men came walked down the nose, each wearing fire nation amour. The one in front of all of them was prince Zuko himself.

Sokka charged at him without a second though, "Ahhh!"

Before his weapon hit anything, it was kicked from out of his hands. Sokka stared at the man in shock. Zuko glared at him and kicked him in the side of his face. Sokka was tossed to the side with his head being buried in the snow.

Naruto looked around and realized that everyone was frozen in fear. The fire nation has sure changed in the last 100 years because these guys were brutal, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Zuko looked at the blond and began to speak, "I am prince Zuko and I demand you tell me when he is?" All the villagers looked at each other in confusion.

Naruto stepped forward, "Who exactly are you looking for?"

Zuko was starting to get agitated, "Where is the avatar!? I know you have him here!"  
"He isnt here. I can promise you that." Why would the avatar be here? The airbenders were… ah. Naruto grin to himself. So he's the avatar huh?. Naruto suddenly started to laugh out loud.

Zuko a bit surprised by the sudden laugh, "Stop laughing! Where is he!?"

Naruto wasn't one that like being ordered around. His grin immediately disappeared and his face turned serious, "Okay listen here, two things will happen in the next few minutes. I'm going to kick your ass and I'm going to make sure you guys leave."

Zuko walked closer to the crowd of people, "Is that a challenge?" Daggers made out of fire formed in Zuko's hand, "I Don't want to hurt a child."

Naruto got in his stance and smirked, "Trust me kiddo, I'm way older than I look." Naruto turned towards Aang, "Watch my back." Aang nodded and got his staff ready in case he needed to make his move.

Zuko shot a few fireballs to get the match started. Naruto got began to side step and move slowly like he was a leaf in being blown by the wind. All the fireballs missed him and were headed straight towards the villagers. Aang got in front of them and spun his staff to repel the attack.

Naruto charged at Zuko at high speeds and slid on the snow as soon as Zuko extended his arm to shot another fireball. Before Zuko had anytime to react he was kicked in the chin from below and was tossed in the air.

A few seconds later Zuko landed on the floor butt up, "Is that the best you got fire prince?" Naruto wasn't impressed with the so called prince. He expected him to react to his move but seemed like Zuko wasn't much of a threat.

All the guards formed a line in front of Zuko to try to protect him. Their weren't going to let their captain be humiliated like that.

"Stop!"

The guards turned around and noticed that Zuko had stood up on his feet, "Don't interfere with the match." Zuko knew the mission was to retrieve the Avatar but he also knew that a duel was between two people. The moment others got involved he would lose. His honor was stolen from him but he at least had some pride in himself.

Aang had noticed that the match was getting out of hand. It bugged him because he was the prime reason all of this was happening. The villagers were all scared at what was happening before them. He didn't want others to be hurt because of him.

Naruto began to run once again towards Zuko but was stopped when and flew in the middle of them both, "Stop! If you want the Avatar then you can have him. As long as you leave this village alone I will come with you!"

Zuko nodded at the request of the young airbender. He then stared at the blond behind Aang and gave him a glare, "Capture the blond one as well."

Aang turned to to Naruto with a frown. He didn't mean to get him involved in all of this but he hoped he would comply. Naruto looked at Aang and noticed his pleading look. He sighed and put his weapons behind his back. The villagers watched in awe as his weapons disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sokka had been watching the whole thing from the sidelines and he was smart enough to not get in between both of them. As long as they left he knew that his mission was complete. He hated to say this but it was a small sacrifice to let his people live.

Naruto walked over to Sokka and put his hands on the his shoulders, "Looks like my ride out of here has arrived. It's nice knowing you Sokka. Take care of yourself and your sister. Make sure Aang's PET doesn't run away by himself."

As Naruto walked away Sokka gave him a blank look. That was odd. He didn't think they bonded enough to be considered friends. And what about Appa? He watched on as the guards held Aang and Naruto and led them inside the ship.

Katara didn't like how they just gave up so easily, "Wait." Her words did reach any of their ears as the ship closed up and began to move back.

XxX

(On Zuko's ship)

All the guards were around both prisoners and were ready to take action if needed. Zuko was in front of them glaring a hole in the blond's face. Naruto wasn't really worried for his well being at all. The one thing he learn in life was to never fear any man. Unless they were benders, then you had a problem. He just wasn't one to be scared so easily and took things with ease.

"Nice ship you got here."

Zuko ignored the blond and looked towards his uncle, "A child. This this whole time I was looking for a child."

It was really humiliating that this whole time he was searching for a child. He prepared for the day that he would face the Avatar that at some point he may have gone insane. He was hoping for an old man with powers beyond belief.

Iroh just shrugged his shoulders. He was just as shocked as his nephew. How was he supposed to know that the Avatar was just a kid, "Don't look at me."

Zuko looked at his guards, "Take the Avatar and other one to the prison hold." Zuko walked away to let them do their thing.

"I have a name you know."

"And I don't care." Zuko began to walk away.

Naruto chuckled at the man. He loved to mess with people who thought so highly of himself and it seemed like Zuko would be his prime target.

Before they took Naruto downstairs, he noticed a table with a familiar, "Oh pai sho." Aang looked back at Naruto who just winked back.

"Wait!" The guards looked at Iroh, "Bring him over here."

One of the guards looked at the other in question. He shrugged his shoulders in response. They walked over to where Iroh was sitting. He was currently in a game of pai sho but was ruined after Zuko had changed course.

Iroh stroked his beards and smiled at the boy, "You play?"

Naruto smirk, "Of course." The guards untied him and let him sit. Naruto then began playing, "So what's got 'Prince' Zuko so grumpy?"

Iroh looked at the board to see what his next move would be, "Sorry about my nephew. He has been hunting for the Avatar for a really long time. Like he said, he may have gone mad at some point."

Naruto chuckled, "You really worry for him don't you?"

Iroh slowly nodded his head, " Well I am his uncle. I try my best to steer him to the right path." He quickly frowned at Naruto's move. He was in a tough situation.

Naruto noticed the man's expression, "You really need a poker face. I can tell how you're struggling." Naruto didn't need one because he was always smiling. You can never go wrong if you always have a smile on your face.

Iroh chuckled, "I guess I do. Look out!" He pointed up into the sky.

Naruto looked up and was very clear of what Iroh had done, "Sheesh old man I expected much from you but cheating, really?"

Iroh tried his best to look innocent, "What are you talking about? Hurry up it's your turn."

After a few minutes the began to go at it. All the guards were able to heard was the clank noise that the pieces made when they were placed on the board. The noises began to to go faster as both players began their final strike. Iroh noticed that Naruto was looking at him and not at the board.

' _What an unusual boy.'_ Iroh had never seen anyone being able to play the game without looking at the board. He also never heard of anyone able to compete in his speed in the game either.

"It's my win. Nice game old man it was fun playing with you." Naruto heard a loud banging where Aang was just taken. He smirked and looked at Iroh, "You're a good man, names Naruto."

Iroh shook the young man's hand, "I'm Iroh and it was a pleasant game." he nodded towards the guards to take him to his prison cell.

Naruto put his hand on the table and shot both feet out to kick the two guards that were behind him. They both were kicked so hard that they fell overboard, "Sorry old man but change of plans."

Aang jumped out of the stairway that led downstairs and looked at Naruto, "Are you okay?"

Naruto nodded at the boy and pointed the direction where they had taken his staff. Aang ran off towards the directions and blew the door open to get inside.

Iroh looked at the blond, "I would suggest you surrender. I do not want to fight a fellow pai sho player."

Naruto smirked at the old man and kicked the table towards him. Iroh wasn't a man to joke around. He used his hand to chop up the table but quickly regretted it when the pai sho board was also cut in half. Immediately Iroh fell to his knees and began to apologize to it.

"Ah! I am so sorry."

Naruto took this opportunity to try to kick him in the face but his leg was grabbed by Iroh, "You think you can get an easy one on me that way?"

Naruto was a bit shocked at his quick reflex. He was sure that he was going to connect, "You sure are dangerous. You're not some regular old man I see." Naruto turned his body to try to kick him with his other leg but was also blocked by Iroh's free hand.

In a puff of smoke his weapons appeared and he tried to stab his stomach but quickly failed once again when Iroh used his fire to push himself back causing Naruto to be free from his grasp.

"It has seem that may have underestimated you." Iroh wasn't one to do that but he honestly didn't expect much from the blond in the beginning. Then again He didn't expect that the Avatar was just a child but look how that turned up.

Naruto through his one of his short swords at Iroh which was dodged by a simple head movement but was immediately shocked when it came back and cut his cheek Naruto reeled in the back his short sword by pulling on the trigger.

At the bottom of the handle was a trigger that allowed his to throw his sword and reel it back in with a some metal wires. It came in handy for time like this but he seemed to be struggling with Iroh for some odd reason. He didn't remember being this sluggish. Maybe being frozen for hundreds of years did that to your body.

Loud screaming was heard from the sky and Naruto saw Aang trying to glide his way out but it seemed that Zuko wasn't going to let him go. He held tightly to Aang's legs to make sure he wouldn't get away. The weight caused both Aang and Zuko to fall onto the deck of the ship. Aang was able to land next to naruto while Zuko next to Iroh.

"Seems like you battle isn't going that well, huh?"

Aang just shook in response. He was trying to regain his breath because getting shot at with fireballs isn't the best experience in the world. A loud growl was heard in the sky causing everyone to look at the sky for the source of the sound.

Naruto mouth opened in surprise when he saw the Appa flying, "Holy shit! He can actually fly!"

Aang's smile couldn't get any bigger when he saw his friends and Appa, "Appa!"

While both their attention were caught on Appa, Zuko took this chance to fire a few fireballs at them. Naruto noticed this and use his palm and blew the fire away. Aang was amazed that Naruto was able to deflect the fire without getting hurt.

They quickly noticed that they were surrounded by multiple firebender and they stood back to back, "Okay Aang, lets try and deflect as many as we can but as soon as you see an opening I need you to glide towards Appa."

"But what about you?"

Naruto chuckled, "Don't worry about me kid, I'll make it up there." He just hoped that he would make it back burned to crisp. All the firebenders began to fire but their attacks were constantly being deflect. They were being led towards the edge of the ship.

Zuko was getting more and more frustrated as the two keep blocking their shots, "Fire at the same time!" All the guards fired their shots and overwhelmed the two causing them both to fall into the water.

Katara looked on as they both fell overboard, "Aang! Naruto!"

Naruto opened his eyes and notice that they both submerged. He turned his head and looked at Aang. He wasn't opening his eyes which couldn't be good. Naruto Extended his hand and touched Aang's forehead with his two fingers.

"You better get em Avatars." He closed his eyes after he used his remaining energy.

Aang's eyes suddenly burst opened and his arrows began to glow. He spun around and bended the water causing it to form an underwater whirlpool. He lifted himself and Naruto out of the water.

After a few seconds of waiting everyone was surprised when Aang suddenly came out of the water with water swirling underneath him. He handed Naruto to Katara and Sokka and makes his way towards the ship. He landed on the deck and was quickly surrounded by the firebenders. He bended the water to form around him and then expands it causing everyone around him to go overboard.

Sokka looked in amazement, "Woah! Katara, you have to see this." His words were ignored as she tried her best to aid naruto.

Aang lifted himself up towards Appa and landed before he fell in exhaustion, "Uhgg…"

"Are you okay Aang?" Katara checked to see if everything was in order. He seemed fine but he looked like whatever he just did completely sucked up all his energy.

"Yeah I'll be okay for now." He crawled on top of Appa's head and tried his guided Appa away from the ship.

Both Iroh and Zuko looked on as the avatar made his escape, "We have to shoot them down!" They both shot a massive fireball at the same time to make it more destructible.

Aang jumped ran towards the saddle and used his staff like a baseball bat. As he swung he was able to airbend causing the fire ball to quickly change course towards a cliff. As it explodes the iced from the cliff fall right at the tip of his ship causing it to stop moving.

After they made their escape, they relaxed for a few minutes. Katara was quick to question Aang, "How did you do all that?" She was amazed by his level of skill, "You waterbended the water like a master."

Aang shrugged his shoulder not really knowing how to answer that, "I don't know. I suddenly felt a burst of energy and then whatever happened to me happened."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar." Katara felt stupid not seeing it from the beginning.

Aang looked down with a sad expression, "Because… I never wanted to be." How could anyone leave the fate of the world to a twelve year old and expect him to be completely fine with it.

Katara put her hand on his shoulders, "Don't worry Aang, were going to help you." She wasn't going to let him do this all by himself, "According to the legend your supposed to learn water next so if we head to the north pole you're bound to find a master there."

Aang smiled at her, "Thanks Katara and you too Sokka."

Sokka turned his head and crossed his arms, "Yea whatever."

"Come on Sokka, I'm sure you will get to beat a few firebender on the way."

Sokka rubbed his chin, "That does sound like something I would like." He then looked back and frowned, "If we do go back home we may put them in danger."

Now that Zuko knew what they looked like he was sure that going home wasn't the best idea. He didn't want anyone back home be harmed. His father left him the responsibility to keep them safe and leaving home was the best option.

Katara smiled at his agreement, "Okay it's all set. Were doing this all together."

Aang smiled at both of them and continued to focus on their destination. He took a quick look at Naruto before turning back. He was sure that he saw Naruto airbend to block that fire. He would ask him if he had the time but for now he had to focus on trying to master all the elements.

* * *

 **And there you have it folks. I hope you enjoyed. I'm not asking for a requirement so I can continue. My only goal is to write stories that no one has ever thought of and I hope this one will be one of a kind.**

 **See you next time.**


	2. A Team is Born

**And another chapter in your hands. Yes pray to the almighty Nuke. I decided to keep it going because all I need is one review to know that someone out there loves it. Thanks you all for taking your time to review it. It makes my heart warm. Even if it's a black hole that still counts as a heart.**

 **DarkShadowRaven: Thanks for reviewing my story. Ive read your work and it pleases me that you enjoy it.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I want to say I do but then I would be lying to myself.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: A team is born**

 _You don't have a choice._

 _You must do it._

 _It's your destiny._

 _If you refuse you will be killed._

Blue eyes suddenly opened and stared at the sky. He quickly sat up to observe his surrounding and saw that the rest of the gang was on the floor sleeping. He looked towards the mountains and saw that the sun was beginning to rise up. It was a beautiful sight that Naruto didn't see much.

He had that nightmare again. They talked to him like they understood his situation but they knew nothing of his curse. Some would call it a blessing or an honor but even when you have a blessing there is bound to be some hell. He just hoped that he wouldn't be needed after this because he was honestly tired of his curse.

He wanted to live his life like a normal person. But what does a normal person really do? He doesn't remember the last time he got to do anything anyone his age would do. He just had to suck it up and see this one through.

"Naruto? Are you okay?"

Naruto turned and saw Katara standing up. She stretched her arms and gave a quick yawn, "How long have you been up?"

Naruto went back to look at the sun rise, "Not too long. Just had a nightmare." Seems like the day was only just starting.

"Are you feeling any better? You've been out for a day." She was getting worried at some point because he wouldn't wake up.

Naruto didn't look surprise at all. He did do something that took all of his energy away from him and would've taken time to recover. He was just glad that they were able to make it out safely, "What happened after I passed out?"

Katara hopped onto Appa's saddle and smiled, "You should've seen it. Aang was waterbending like he had done it all his life. It was amazing."

She was very impressed with how Aang was able to control his waterbending. It was looked like second nature to him. It seemed that being the Avatar allows you to learn bending easily. She was disappointed to find out that Aang didn't know how he did it nor does he remember any of it. She would of wanted a few lessons from him but it seemed she would need to learn on her own.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Really now?" So his techniques worked. He seriously needed to get back in shape if he wanted to do that without losing consciousness every time, "I'm sure it was amazing. Hows he doing by the way?"

"What do you mean?"

Naruto sighted, "About the whole airbender being extinct thing." He was sure Aang wasn't going to take it well.

Katara looked away, "Oh, Um… about that."

"You didn't tell him… " Was she serious? Why wouldn't she tell him that they were all gone. It would honestly be a lot easier for him to know the truth than him finding out himself.

"Ill tell him okay. Just don't mention to him. Please." She gave him a pleading look. She knew Aang would be devastated if you just told him out of the blue. She had to tell him slowly or he may not take it so well. If she allowed Naruto to do it it wouldn't end well. Narutos the type of person to just say it bluntly and that might come on too fast for Aang to take it in.

Naruto ran his fingers through his hair, "Fine but if he goes ape shit then I'm blaming you."

Katara gave him a smile. She didn't understand with what he meant but as long as he wouldn't say anything then it was fine. The sound of Aang waking up caught both their attention.

"Oh you guys are up?" He gave them both a grin, "Are you guys ready?" He was full of energy in the morning.

"Woah there monk boy. Calm down with the questions." Naruto stood up to stretch, "And ready for what?"

"To the southern air temple of course."

Naruto gave him a deadpan look. He turned his head towards katara, "If anything happens it's on you." Since she hadn't said anything it would come as a big shocker to the kid and then he would go ape shit.

Katara nervously chuckle, "Why don't we start packing?" She hopped off the saddle and began to pack her things.

Aang's looked at Sokka and notices that he hasn't woken up yet, "Sokka wake up!"

A groan was heard from the blue sleeping bag, "Sleep now… Temple later… " It was too early for him to get up.

A vicious smile appeared on Narutos face, "Hey Aang just let him sleep I'm sure that Sokka is tired." Naruto started to measure the distance between him and Sokka.

Sokka happily approved of that statement, "See Aang be more like Naruto. He truly understands when a warrior need his sleep."

Naruto began to run and jumped off Appa's saddle, "Uzumaki Slam!" He put all the force he had on his elbows and aimed for Sokka.

Sokka was turned around and had no idea what was happening, "Stop yell-" Before he even had time to react, Narutos elbow struck him on his stomach, "Ugh!"

Naruto stood up and extended his hands up, "And the great Uzumaki has beaten the wimpy Sokka." Everyone around chuckled except for Sokka. He was weeping in pain, "Sorry about that Sokka but seriously we need to keep moving."

Sokka was trying to not cry because real warriors didn't cry, "You're an ass, you know that." His voice cracked a few time while saying that.

Naruto gave him a thumbs up, "Thank you."

Sokka began to roll up his sleeping bag while muttering about stupid blonds. "That wasn't a compliment." It's like he didn't get any respect around here. Why couldn't they just do this in the afternoon? This was messing up his sleep schedule.

"Whatever soldier boy, now let's get moving."

They all began to pack their bags. Naruto didn't have any really so he just waited for them to finish and just relaxed. So far everything was going great and there was nothing to worry but he suspected that many thing were to come. And those things wouldn't be easy to get through.

After a few hours of flying Sokka's stomach began to rumble, "I'm so hungry… " His stomach continued to rumble, "Shut up stomach. I'm trying to find us some food."

Sokka took out a bag and began to untie it. He turned it upside down to try to get them all out at once but the only thing that came out was crumbs, "Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"

Aang looked away, "Oh that was food? I used half of that to start the fire last night."

"Then where's the other half?"

Naruto was lying to the side and was picking at his teeth with a toothpick, "I ate it." He didn't see the big deal, "If anything I did you a favor. They were terrible and they got stuck on my teeth."

Seal jerky was absolutely the most disgusting thing Naruto has ever eaten. He threw it all up about an hour after eating it. He was hoping that it would have a decent taste but it seemed like Sokka's tastebuds were messed up.

Sokka raised his hands up in front of him and pretended that he was strangling the blond, "Why you- Grrr!"

Sokka had some anime tears running down his face. Maybe he should of take that extra food Gran Gran offered him. He denied it because he didn't want to take more than they already gave them. He hoped that they were doing okay.

Both Aang and Naruto chuckled at Sokka. Naruto did it for the enjoyment of making Sokka mad. He had the best reaction when he was angry towards him. He did feel kinda bad at the moment but he would make it up to him later. His eyes trailed of to Katara. He stared at Katara and gave her a look, *~Stare~*

Katara didn't need to turn her head to figure out who was staring at her. She felt the stare go right through her, "Listen Aang, Before we get to the temple. I just want you to know that it's been a hundred years and things won't be the same."

Aang gave her a huge smile, "I know that's why I want to go there. I want to see whats changed."

Katara didn't know if there was any other way to say it because Aang didn't get what she was trying to say. They were gone. Extinct. Dead. Breaking the news to him was kinda hard itself.

"You'll understand when we get there. The fire nation are brutal people and they could have killed your people." She hoped that it got through to him.

Aang wasn't fazed with what she had said, "You don't understand Katara. The only way to get into the temple is if you have a flying bison." Aang patted Appa's head causing him to grunt loudly.

After being gone for a hundred years, they would have surely been looking all over for him. He wanted to go see what's changed and he actually hoped to see an airbender there. He couldn't believe that he was the last. There was just no way.

Naruto got close to Katara and whispered in her ear, "Sheesh water girl. Couldn't deliver the news any better."

Katara pushed him away, "It's hard okay." Breaking bad news like that wasn't something she was used to. How can you tell someone that they may be the last airbender in the world. You just couldn't.

Naruto understood why it was hard but that didn't excuse her from trying to tell Aang in a nice fashion. It's better that he find out from her than him finding it out himself. As of now he only had one left and he didn't want to use it so early. He would tell Aang now but he promised Katara. And you know him and his promises, he always kept them.

After they landed they began to walk along a curve path with Aang leading the way. Since he lived here he knew the way. By the looks looks of the path it seemed like no one had been here in awhile. The trees were all dead and it gave off a creepy feeling.

They all came to a stop near a steep cliff. Aang looked below and smiled at the familiar place. He missed this sight, "That's where the bison would sleep and that's where…" His voice trailed off as memories began to come back to him.

He love being here and he enjoyed being with everyone. Being the Avatar sucked and caused his friends to treat him differently. He was still himself but no one would understand that. He never understood why the position was to him. Aang never feel any different from any of the other airbenders.

Aang sighed, "There used to be so much life here and now…" It was just an empty shell. Like no one had ever been here for a long time. All the fun and games that he used to play with his friends, that energy was gone.

Naruto noticed that Aang trailed off and realized that he was let down by the fact that all his friends are all gone. He honestly felt bad for Aang and hope that he would be okay. Naruto looked ahead and saw something, "Hey Aang, what's that?"

Aang looked ahead and saw a few wooden poles in the distance, "Those are a game that we airbenders used to play all the time. Its called airball." A few memories of playing with his friends came to him, "It was really fun if you have a whole bunch of people."

His expression showed that it made him even more sad which cause Naruto to frown, "How about a game? Me, you and Sokka."

Sokka nodded his, "Yea." He then realized that he wasn't paying attention to what they were talking about, "Wait, what did I just agree to?"

Naruto put his arms around Sokka's shoulder, "It will be fun. How about it Aang?"

Aang instantly perked up at the sound of that. It had been a while since he could play with someone because since he became the Avatar, no one would play with him. It was Sokka and Naruto against Aang. Some would find it unfair but since Aang was the only airbender here that meant that he had a huge advantage. So two non benders against a bender. Naruto liked the odds.

"Ready when you are Aang!"

Sokka was completely lost at what to do, "Hey hold on! What do I do?"

Naruto smirked, "Just stop the ball from going in the hole." Naruto was a very competitive player and he didn't want to lose.

Aang began to do some tricks with the ball and threw it up in the air. Sokka watched the ball while Naruto kept his eyes on Aang. As soon as the ball fell Aang used his airbending to kick the ball at high speeds. Sokka closed his eyes when the ball was heading his way.

Naruto intervened and kicked it right back. The ball bounced of the poles and headed towards Aang.

Aang was surprised that Naruto was able to kick it, "Here I go!" This time Aang kicked it with much more force. The ball sky rocketed towards them.

Narutos leg was stinging a little because kicking something at high speeds wasn't something he liked to do. As it headed towards their direction Naruto did his best to kick it right back to Aang which was immediately returned.

Katara was standing in the sideline watching the ball go back and forth between the two. It looked like a draw in her eyes but she didn't see that Aang was overpowering Naruto. Airball was a game that required airbending but Naruto didn't have that so he was at an obvious disadvantage and Aang knew that.

As the ball was coming towards Aang, a smirk appeared on his face, "This is the game winner!" He kicked the ball with all his power causing it to go faster than the eye to see.

Naruto watched as it flew right past him and hit Sokka causing him to fall off.

That almost hit him right in the head, "Are you trying to kill me!?" He ignored the yells of pain coming from below.

Aang rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry..."

Naruto hopped off immediately and poked Sokka, "You dead?" He would be surprised if Sokka was still breathing after that hit.

Sokka smacked his finger away, "Don't go poking me! I'm in pain here." Trying to make Aang feel better was truly killing him. He then noticed a helmet on the ground, "Check it out."

Both Naruto and Katara looked the helmet and knew who it belonged to, "Fire nation."

Naruto turned to Katara, "He has to know Katara. The more you wait the more it will affect him."

Katara rubbed her arms, "I know…" She saw Aang heading their way and bended the snow to cover the helmet.

"Are you okay Sokka? You sure took a hard hit." Aang looked around and notice the tension, "Anyways, let's go explore the rest of the temple."

Aang walked towards the temple while the rest followed. The temple was old and looked to be breaking down from years of exposure to the elements. Weeds were found everywhere and it was also very dusty.

After walking for a while Aang stopped to look at a statue of an old man, "Guys this is Monk Gyatso. He's the greatest airbender in the world." He was like a father figure to him and he respected him.

Naruto walked around the statue, "He doesn't look so tough. I bet I can beat him."

Aang chuckled at what Naruto had said. He had no idea how strong Gyatso was. Aang smiled at the statue and bowed his head in respect. He truly did miss him and hoped to see him but he knew that it was impossible at the moment, 'I'm _sorry.'_

"You must have really cared about him." Katara noticed how Aang looked at the statue with a lot of respect.

"Yea. He was really nice and made sure I got my training done." He would always try to skip some airbending classes to play with the others but Gyatso always caught him.

Naruto continued to observe the statue, "He seemed like a closet pervert if you ask me." He was immediately elbowed by Katara, "What? It was just a thought."

Katara decided to change the subject, "He looked like a nice person. Thanks for showing him to us."

Aang smiled at her, "He was the nicest person that I knew."

Sokka wasn't really paying attention to anything at the moment, "Well does this nice guy have any food stored up anywhere." He was met with silence by everyone around him, "Sorry, wrong time."

Aang then began to walk towards the temple, "Come on."

Katara was the first to begin following him, "Where are you going?"

Aang stopped and turned to her, "The air temple sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet."

They all began to follow him but Naruto stayed behind and continued to look at the statue. Naruto gave the man a bow and smiled at the statue, "I'm sorry about missing the appointment. You would have kicked my ass if you were still here." He bowed once more before he ran to catch up to the others.

They made a stop when they reached a huge wooden door that is dominated by an enormous woodcut comprised of three air symbols. Naruto stared at the door and felt weird for a few seconds before shrugging it off.

Katara stared at the door in amazement, "It's impressive but I doubt anyone could have survived in there."

Aang chuckled, "If I can survive being frozen for a hundred years then so can who ever might be in here."

"Good point." That did make some sense but she still had some doubts.

Sokka ran to the door and began to try to push it open, "There might be some food in there. Aang, give a hand here."

Aang shook his head, "You don't open it that way. You need to use airbending." Aang got into his pose and airbend two jets of air into the horn of the woodcut. The air ran through the tubes causing it to make strange noises before it was finally opened.

XxX

(Fire Navy Yard)

Zuko had been forced to give information of what happened to his ship to general Zhao. Zuko wasn't a big fan of Zhao because the man was an asshole. He always acted high and mighty just because of his current situation. He always made Zuko feel like he never belong in the fire nation.

Zhao paced back and forth while keeping an eye on Zuko, "So you're telling me that you got bested by a 12 year old." He turned to Zuko and glared at him, "Do you realize how pathetic that sounds?"

They were trained fire nation soldiers with him and they got beaten up by a kid. That showed how weak Zuko truly was. He was so pathetic that even a kid could defeat him.

"That's because I underestimated him. I won't do it again." Next time he met the Avatar he would go easy on him.

"That's because you won't get the chance. It was your mission and you have failed! He's mine now." The Avatar was the biggest threat to the fire nation and Zuko just let him get away so easily. That was a failure in his books. But he was a failure to start out with.

Zuko slammed his hands on the chair, "He wasn't alone so of course I would have some trouble."

Zhao didn't care for the other person. Who could be more important that the Avatar himself? It could be a hundred people in front of him and he would still come out at the top.

"This blond whiskered child helped him escape. The Avatar couldn't have escaped if he wasn't there." Zuko noticed how he suddenly got really serious.

Zhao glared at zuko. He didn't want to believe of what he had just heard, "What did you say?"

"Blond kid with whiskers." Zuko wasn't scared of Zhao. Not one bit but the look on his face meant that something was up and he wanted to know what it was.

Zhao got closer to Zuko, "Are you sure that he had whiskers? Did he also have any weird markings on him?" He was asking the question very quickly which surprised Zuko a little.

Zuko nodded his head, "I think so but I'm not so sure about the markings."

"So hes with the Avatar?" Another nod from Zuko, "God Dammit!" Zhao shot a fireball at the wall, "He's no longer your problem. The Avatar will be captured by me along with this blond brat." As he walked out the door he looked back, "You have no idea who you just let escape. Keep them here and don't let them out."

Zuko watched the door closed and clenched his teeth in anger. Why did Zhao seemed frightened when he mentioned the blond. Zuko knew that he had some skills but nothing seemed to stick out. What could cause him to to be so scared? He wanted to know because that may be the answer to catching the Avatar.

XxX

(Back at the Air Temple)

As they walked inside and saw a whole bunch of statues arrayed in a pattern. It was truly a once in a lifetime chance to see. Naruto was actually amazed at all the statues and looked up to notice that it kept on going, "This is amazing. Who has the time to do all of this?"

Katara touched one of the statues, "Who are all of these people?" They were kinda creepy in a way.

Naruto walked over to them, "The previous avatars. They are all arranged like the avatar cycle." They looked closely and noticed that they were in fact arranged perfectly. Air, water, earth, and fire.

Aang stared at the statues, "No wonder I feel like I know them." They were all connected to him. They were all basically him in another life. It was really interesting to see how all of them looked like.

Sokka wasn't very into the whole Avatar stuff, "You guys actually believe in all that Avatar stuff."

Katara put her hands on her hips, "What's there not to believe. One of them is standing right in front of you." After what they saw what Aang could, how could he still not believe any of it?

"Point taken. But I still need solid proof." He honestly couldn't believe that every single statue here was once Aang's past lives.

"Come on Sokka, have a little faith buddy." Sokka was a smart guy but sometimes Naruto wasn't so sure.

Katara noticed something strange on the statues, "What's this?" She had realized that some were made with a strange necklace. In the middle of the necklace was a small skinny cylinder. A strange marking was on it.

Sokka looked around and noticed how only a few had it, "It weird. Only a few have them while the rest don't."

Katara turned to Aang, "Do you have one Aang?"

Aang shook his head, "I've never seen one before." He found to odd that he didn't have one. Not all of the Avatar statue had them only a few had them made. Maybe those Avatars were related and passed it down.

"How many do you think were there?" Naruto was very curious how many have lived before Aang. He was sure that not all of the Avatars were in this temple. He felt like there was more.

Naruto smiled at the statues. This was actually a cool place. He felt energy coming from each of the statues like they were watching them. He then gave Aang a stare. This one kid was the next person in line to save the world. He felt like he and Aang were meant to meet the way they met.

Aang looked at a statue of the previous Avatar and began to just stare at. Something began to draw him in and it felt like the statue was looking back at it. He was snapped out of it when Naruto slapped the monks head.

"Earth to Aang. Are you there?"

"Huh? Sorry… For some reason it felt like the statue as calling for " Aang didn't know why he felt that way but this showed that he didn't have a proper understanding of what a true Avatar was. He then rubbed his head from the slap Naruto gave him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at Roku, "This guy sure looks bad ass. Especially with the beard." His eyes trailed off and stared at Aang, "You should grow one Aang. I'm sure you look more threatening with one."

Aang stroked his chin, "You really think so?" Growing facial hair was never really something he thought about. Avatar Roku did look cool.

Katara put her hands on Aang's shoulders, "Don't listen to him Aang. Naruto's not right in the head."

Naruto clenched his chest, "Damn Katara. I feel like the fire nation wasn't the only one to turn brutal." That came out of nowhere. Maybe she was just teasing him.

"Stop being such a baby. Let Aang enjoy the time he has to see his past lives." She didn't want Naruto feeding Aang crazy idea. A beard, really? Aang was fine the way he is.

Naruto chuckled at the water tribe girl, "No respect for your elders I see."

"I'm older than you."

He wagged his finger at her, "Technically I'm 113 years old. I'm the oldest here so no funny business young lady." He burst out laughing when her face turned red once she realized that he was right, "And if you look close enough you would see that more than half of the male Avatar have beards."

Katara looked around and saw that a more than a few had beards, "That doesn't mean that Aang should grow one. He's different. Not like you grandpa."

Naruto sighed, "Whatever. Still you should think about it Aang. We old people must stick together and grow one together." He hoped he would grow beard because nothing made others see you as a man than a manly beard. Roku was a prime example at that. The dude had the coolest beard in the world.

"Enough with the growing beards already." It was getting on her nerve at this point. They were arguing if a 12 year old should grow beard or not. How ridiculous was that?

Sokka stoked his chin, "Maybe I should get one." He would look like a bad ass warriors and maybe score with the girls more.

They were interrupted when Sokka's stomach began to growl. The sound echoes in throughout the temple causing everyone to turn to him. Sokka noticed this and just grabbed his stomach.

"Don't look at me like that! I'm a human being that requires nutrition to function."

"Don't worry Sokka, After this we'll go hunting for some food." Naruto was feeling kinda bad that he ate all of Sokka's jerky.

"Fine… I'll try my best to hold out but I make no promises. If I don't get food soon I might start thinking about eating Appa." He felt like he could if he tried.

Aang shook his head violently, "What!? No! You stay away from Appa!" Appa was his best friend and one of the most important members of the group. He would never allow anyone to eat him.

"Calm down Aang. I'm sure Sokka is just being a jerk because he's hungry." Times like this made Naruto remember that Aang was still just an innocent kid at heart.

"Yea dont worry Aang it was a joke." It was the half truth. He was actually thinking about what type of seasoning he would add to a cooked Appa. The overwhelming glare from his sister got him to rethink his whole a idea, "A joke. Yea a joke…"

Naruto senses picked up movement near the doorway. He didn't know whether they were human or not, "Everyone hide."

They all listen right away and hid behind the statues. The light that was shining from the door caused the shadow of who ever was entering to become bigger. Naruto nodded to Sokka and began to countdown from three. At the count of three Aang, Sokka and Naruto jumped out and noticed the strange creature in the entrance.

Aang knew what it was immediately, "A lemur!"

Sokka on the other only thought of his stomach, "Dinner!" Nobody said anything about not eating a lemur. This could be the meat that his stomach truly needed.

Aang pushed Sokka to the side, "No hes not hes my new pet."

Sokka pushed Aang back, "Not if I get him first."

They both charged at the lemur but the lemur was able to maneuver its way out of their grasp and ran away. Both aang and Sokka chased after it. Naruto and Katara were the only ones left.

XxX

(Fire Navy yard)

Zuko and Iroh both were escorted towards the fire nation arena where Zuko and Zhao were about to face each other. Zuko was tired of Zhao's superior attitude towards him. He would truly show him what he was made of. He had challenged him in hopes that he would not after the Avatar and leave it to him.

Zhao on the other hand though of this as a way to teach Zuko a lesson so he could finally learn his place. He didn't like Zuko and would never think to give him even an ounce of respect. Maybe he should give another scar to his other eye.

Zhao rubbed his wrist and prepared for his duel. He wasn't worried at all because he knew he could take Zuko out. He was obviously more skilled and a higher rank for a reason, "I refuse to lose to a failure like you."

Zuko wasn't fazed by his insult, "Trust me, I won't lose." Zuko was fully confident in his skill and he was never one to give in so quickly. Was Zhao a bit more skilled? Yeah. But he wasn't scared at all. Hes trained twice as hard as him and was sure the he had a shot.

Zhao smirked, "Don't worry 'prince' Zuko, this will be over quickly."

They both stood facing each other and waited for the signal to start. No one dared to speak in such a important moment. They both had their own reasons for this duel but only one would come at the top. On top of the gate, someone hit the gong which was a signal to start.

Both men were in their firebending stance. It was purely reflex to them and waited for a perfect time to strike. Zuko was never the patient one so he took it upon himself to get the match started. Fire began to form in his hand and he quickly shot the first fire shot. Zhao stood his ground and was able to slap the fireball out easily.

"That's it? That's child's play! I'll show you how a real firebender does it!" He started to shoot multiple fireballs towards Zuko.

Zuko was able to dodge some but he had to slap a few away. Zuko was tired of the range combat so he began to run towards Zhao. Zhao realized this and did the same. They met at the middle and began hand to hand combat which did not favor in Zuko's side.

Zhao landed a quick blow to his stomach and was able to push him back. He then shot a fire blast towards Zuko which he deflected. He continued to do this and began to put more power into it. Zuko was doing his best to deflect them but they began to get stronger and stronger. He was then knocked to the grown after he attempted to block the last one but it was too much for him.

Zhao started to walk over, "You see. Your nothing but a failure. You were brought down the moment someone overpowered you. What a weakling." He expected a bit more but it seemed like he was right about Zuko. He was a pathetic banished prince.

Iroh was worried for his nephew, "Zuko!"

Zhao didn't like to show mercy to his opponent so he would end this in a blast. He shot a fireball while Zuko was down in hopes to scar him. Zuko snapped out it and rolls out of the way just in time, and as he is getting up sweeps Zhao's feet out from under him. He lands on his feet while Zhao wobbles his way back to his stance.

Zuko took this chance and shot more blast to make him lose his balance which showed to work until Zhao fell to the ground. Zhao tried to crawl back but stopped once Zuko was in front of him, "Finish me!"

"You're not worth it." He knew when he had won and there was no reason for him to continue.

Zhao didn't like to be shown mercy like this, "What a weakling. Your father was right to be disappointed in such a pathetic son." His confidence quickly disappeared when Zuko turned to him and crouched.

Iroh didn't like the looks of Zuko's action, "Zuko! It is over. Let it go."

Zuko looked towards his uncle to reassure him, "It's okay uncle." He then turned to Zhao, "So whos the blond that was with the Avatar?"

Zhao ignored him, "I don't have to tell you anything."

"You better tell me or this can get real ugly." He didn't want to waste any more time than he needed to. The Avatar was out there and he didn't want to give him more time to escape.

"Fine." He slapped Zuko's hand away, "He's dangerous."

Zuko's didn't see the big deal with that. The Avatar was more dangerous to the fire nation, "So what? He can't be more dangerous than the Avatar."

"You don't get it." He had no idea who they were dealing with, "He's may be more powerful than the Avatar. He must be dealt with before he can become stronger. That's all you're getting from me."

Zuko stood up and began to walk back. That was something he didn't expect to hear. How can anyone be equal to the Avatar. Someone who can bend all four elements and has the power to defeat any man. So there was someone out there who was stronger that.

Iroh noticed that Zuko had a troubled expression, "What is wrong Zuko?"

Zuko continued to walk past him, "Were leaving." He already wasted enough time.

Someone more powerful than the Avatar. This blond was more terrifying than he though. What power could he poses to scare someone like Zhao? Zhao was never easily frightened and if he was scared of someone that he never met than that meant that something

How could someone like that idiot be more dangerous than the avatar?

XxX

(Back at the Air Temple)

"That brother of your sure is odd." Honestly, why would he want to eat such a wonderful creature. He did promise him that they would go hunting but not this soon.

Katara shook her head, "Tell me about it." He had no idea how right he was. Sokka was probably the oddest person anyone will ever meet. Whether she like it or not he was still her brother.

They both began to make their way in the direction that they ran off to. Naruto walked next to her with his hands in his pocket, "What do you think about this whole Avatar stuff?'

Katara was a bit confused on what he was asking, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly. Doesn't it feel like we're meant to meet at some point." Naruto found it strange how they met people that were willing to help out and leave their old lives behind. That wasn't something a normal person would do, "Doesn't it bug you that you left your home for this?"

Katara understood what Naruto was saying but in reality she didn't mind at all, "At some point I would have left with or without my brother." She was the only waterbender in her village so she would set out to master her ability in hopes that she could do more for her village. It would have been hard on her own but she was glad that she met Aang and Naruto.

They were the ones that gave her the ticket she needed to master waterbending. It may be a little rocky in the beginning but she felt that this journey is what she really needed, "It's a fun experience and I'm really enjoying myself, so I don't really mind that much. Don't get me wrong I miss them but it was for the best."

Naruto was actually trying to get to know her better as a person. He knew that she wasn't a threat but he just wanted to make sure that he goals won't get into the way of Aang mastering the elements.

"So what about you?"

Naruto blinked a few times, "Huh?"

"Why are you coming along with us?" She was sure that Naruto would have split with them at some point when they landed somewhere but he seemed to be stuck to them like glue.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "No reason at all. I'm in it to help Aang out. He's more lost than I will ever be and I'm sure you guys could use another person to tag along." Naruto like Aang. He seemed like a very energetic kid and that made Naruto worry for him because he has no idea what's he in for.

Katara understood what he was trying to say. To many Aang was the most powerful bender in the world and the reincarnation of many powerful ones before him. But to them he was still an innocent twelve year old who still thought like one.

As they walked they continued to talk about random things but eventually they realized that they had been walking in circles, "I'm pretty sure we past that tree like three time already."

Naruto chuckled at her, "That's because I led you around."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because it's fun and it bugs you." He winked and stuck out his tongue out at her.

Katara walked ahead, "You're such a child you know that." She then ran off in a random direction in search of Aang and her brother.

Naruto chuckled at her. She was so much fun to tease. The two sibling were enjoyable to mess with because they reacted practically the same way. Did he go too far? Nah. They could take it.

Maybe he should of told her the real reason why he was travelling with them. He should probably wait for a while until they trust him a little more because he knows that Sokka has had an eye on him for a while. He wasn't sure why but it seemed like Sokka wanted to figure out who he was.

After walking a while, he noticed the temple suddenly shook. That was strange. That has never happened before. He then felt a strong gust of wind past him. That was no ordinary gust of wind, "Oh fuck…"

Naruto began to run towards the direction of the roaring winds. The moment he got there he was violently pushed back towards the wall. He opened his eyes eyes and saw Aang floating in the middle while facing some remains of Gyatso.

The sphere of wind begins to expand and starts to blow debris around and causing some of the walls to begin to crack. The wind continued to increase in speed. Naruto crawled his way towards Sokka who was taking cover near some rubble.

"Whats happened!"

Sokka was scared for his life and decided to stay hidden, "Aang saw Gyatso's remains and found out that the firebenders killed him!"

"Where's Katara!"

Sokka sat down to avoid anything from hitting him, "She's trying to calm him down but its not working for her." He was really worried for her because she was smack in the middle of it and could probably get hurt.

A light was shining in the direction where the Avatar statues were which indicating that many probably knew at this point that the Avatar had returned. Now that more people knew that he was back everything will become more troublesome. That crosses out trying to keep it a secret. Then again Zuko did see them so there would be no point.

Naruto looked back and saw Katara trying to help Aang but it looked like nothing was Working. Fuck. It was too soon for him to attempt it. But he had to do his job. He reached into his pocket before hesitating, ' _No, not yet.'_

There was no one around but them so he was sure no one would get hurt. Naruto walked on out, "Aang calm down!" He wanted to try to talk Aang out of it instead of hurting him.

"Don't go out there!" Sokka tried to stop him but failed. He then took cover once again as the winds began to pick up.

Naruto continued to walk and stared into the glowing eyes of Aang, "I know you're pissed Aang but you need to look at the bright side!." Naruto knew what these eyes were. Those were all the previous Avatar that have lived before him. That was the legendary Avatar state.

Aang looked at Naruto and stared at him. It was a sign that he was listening, "Trust me Aang, Gyatso wouldn't have wanted you to do this! He would've wanted you to keep on going and fulfill what you were meant to be!" The winds began to die down, "We will do our best to guide you to the right path."

Naruto wasn't one to have a heart to heart talk with anybody but the way Aang was at the moment he knew he couldn't leave him alone. He mentioned Gyatso so Aang would have his attention and it seemed to work. He was a lost kid that had no idea whether he wanted to go down the path of the Avatar.

Naruto smiled at him, "Were your friends Aang and we will do what we can to help you." And he meant every word that he had said. He stuck out his arm, "It's a promise."

Aang landed and was still in the Avatar state. He looked at Naruto before returning the fist bump. He nodded his head and then the glowing of his arrows disappeared meaning that he finally returned to normal.

Aang began to regain his balance but was unable to. Katara caught him before hit the ground, "Aang…" She was really worried for his well-being. She looked at Naruto with a thankful look, "Thanks…" She thought she could calm him down but it seemed like he was out of it.

Naruto crouched, "No problem. Don't try to hide things from him next time. We don't want a repeat of this, do we?" He looked at Aang and smirked, "How about we draw on his face?"

Katara slapped Naruto's hand away, "Just when I think you looked cool you go ahead and ruin it." She will admit that he did look sort of cool but his childishness always came back to ruin it all for him.

Aang was an odd one. Naruto always believed monks were able to control their emotion but maybe that was wrong. Aang let his emotions get the best of him but Naruto had to teach him that he must let somethings go and focus on the future. Gyatso was the first step and even then Naruto doubted that he let that one go. He would probably blame himself for leaving them.

But then again that's why him, Katara and maybe Sokka were here for him. Sokka was more like an add one if anything. He chuckled in his mind for that one. They will help him when he's at his lowest. Aang was still a kid and Naruto understood that. Some would say that he himself was still a kid too but in mind he's as old as any other adult around.

Naruto stood up took a deep breath in, "Okay, let's get Aang on Appa and get going. That's enough mumbo jumbo." Now that Aang finally realized that everything had changed and things were different, he may start to take things a bit more seriously. He walked in the direction where they had left Appa.

Sokka turned to his sister with a questioning look, "Mumbo jumbo?" Katara shrugged at him not really knowing how to answer that.

Aang opened his eyes and noticed how Sokka and Katara were looking at him, "I'm sorry… " This time he knew what had happened. He was watching but he had no control over his body and that was very frightening.

Katara smiled at Aang, "It's okay Aang. You didn't do anything wrong." In fact his reaction is perfectly normal. Except for the whole avatar state thing.

Sokka helped Aang up, "Just like Naruto said, were your family now so we won't let anything happen to you." Sokka liked Aang and thought of him as a friend. He wasn't one to let his friends walk into danger on their own.

Aang smiled at them both. What Naruto said was right. He may have lost a lot but he surely has gained by doing so. He couldn't have ask for better friends that these three. After letting everything that had happened sink in, they walked back towards Appa's Direction.

"Who's a good boy? Yes you are." Naruto was feeding Appa some fruits that he had found and was petting the giant fluffy beast like he was a dog.

Appa growled in delight of being fed. It had been a while and he enjoyed when he was fed while someone pet him. He only let Aang do this but it seemed like this one was doing it with so much care so it didn't bug him as much.

Naruto loved Appa. He he was so adorable that he couldn't resist thinking of a cute little puppy when he saw Appa. He honestly hoped no one saw him doing any of this or he would die of embarrassment.

"Um.. Naruto?"

Fuck.

Naruto quickly turned around and began to whistle, "Oh hey guys. I'm just standing here, you know chilling."

As Katara walked by him, she looked at him, "Don't worry Naruto. You were such a good boy as well." She patted his head and went to get ready to leave. He heard her burst into laughter when she was out of his sight.

Next was Sokka who stopped in front of Naruto, "You had food this entire time." Naruto opened his mouth to respond but was stopped by Sokka's hand gesture, "I don't even know you anymore." He climbed Appa and got to his spot. He could've sworn he heard the man sniffle.

Sokka never really asked if anyone had food on them to begin with. All he ever did was complain on how hungry he was. And it not like he had them with him, he went out to pick some from a tree. Not his fault that he got here too late.

Aang walked to Naruto with a smile on his face, "Thanks Naruto."

Naruto's sighed and smiled at him, "No problem kid. Now Listen up and listen clear." He might as well tell Aang this now before he feels even more down, "I am going to protect you with all my power so don't go thinking that you need to do everything yourself." Naruto pointed at Katara and Sokka, "There here too so you're never alone."

Aang looked at all three of them, "Thank you, all of you." He was glad that they were willing to continue traveling with him even after his Avatar state accident.

Naruto noticed that tears were coming out of the young Avatar's eyes. He placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay Aang, were not going anywhere." Naruto closed his eyes and gave him a huge grin.

Katara finished packing her stuff when she noticed that Aang was caught in a headlock by Naruto. The two were laughing like they have been long time best friends. She smiled at them both knowing that everything would be alright as long as both of them were with them.

* * *

 **And there you have it. Chapter three is on its way but who knows when it will be up. Anyways, you may be wondering why it's following the same path as the original. I believe that even if it was early into the story, this is where Aang fully began to accept that the world is not like the one he knew before.**

 **So this marks a really good turning point for his character. He begins to grow and learns from this experience alone. That's my thoughts at least.**

 **Like always your reviews are always welcomed. Even if you're here to criticize it, I'll take it.**


	3. Kyoshi Island

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or Naruto. Anyone who says that to my face shall be beaten to death… or just receive a strongly worded letter on how much I want to beat them up.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Kyoshi Island**

Below the star filled evening sky, Zuko's ship was on course to try to find any information on the Avatar and so far there wasn't any luck. It was like he reappeared and disappeared. Zuko took it upon himself to try to relax in hopes that he would get news. He shut himself in his room until further notice. He was currently sitting in the lotus position in front of an altar. Four candles were in front of him and were mimicking his breathing patterns. He just needed to cool his head because someone like him needed to be ready when the time called it. His mind couldn't be clouded with things that were unnecessary.

The door suddenly opened causing him to be alarmed, "I clearly stated that the only reason anyone is allowed in here if they have any news of the Avatar's current location." Everything besides that wasn't something he wanted to hear.

Iroh was a bit nervous when he said that because he didn't have any good news for his nephew. He cautiously entered the room, "I do have some news but it's something you won't like."

Zuko wasn't fazed by what he said, "You always taught me that a great leader should always keep a level head. I'm sure that anything you say won't bother me at all." He was calm and level headed at the moment. Nothing could ruin his meditation.

 _'You say that now.'_ Iroh rolled his eyes at Zuko. He didn't believe a word he had said, "Okay, we have no idea where he is."

Zuko's eyes opened with a clear indication that he was mad, "What!?" The candles flames mimic his rage as the flames rise up to the ceiling and then return to normal, "Why is it so hard to find him?" He grabbed the map from Iroh's hands and looked at it.

Iroh began to fan himself, "It's impossible to track him because he never stays in one spot."

Zuko noticed that his uncle was right and that he moved in unpredictable patterns, "It's clear that he's a master of evasive maneuvers."

How was he going to find the Avatar with useless information like this? He needed to find him fast or the blond would surely get stronger. He didn't want to believe anything that Zhao said but he knew that he couldn't take any chances. He needed to deal with him first and as soon as he's out of the picture, everything else will become easy.

Zuko had been doing some research to find any information on anyone more powerful than the Avatar but he kept hitting dead ends. There was no other human capable of matching his power. Was Zhao lying to him? Maybe it was a trap so he could focus on him instead of the Avatar.

"Uncle what do you think?"

"Maybe you should open up a window in here." Zuko glared at him to let him know that he was serious, "I'm not sure what to tell you. Naruto is strange and has some experience but nothing stuck out like Zhao mentioned."

Zuko had told him what Zhao had said but he didn't believe a word. Iroh was a very intelligent man and knew things that not many people would live long enough to learn. He knew who the Avatars were and how strong they were. Saying that there was someone more powerful than him was ridiculous. He was a opened minded person so it wasn't far-fetched at all. He doubted it but there was that small chance that it may be truth and they needed to be cautious of that small chance.

"Whether he was telling the truth or not I won't take any chances. I will end him if I get the chance." He wasn't going to lose to some no named idiot.

Iroh didn't like that answer but he knew Zuko wouldn't listen to him, "You should be careful my nephew. If the Avatar find out you harmed his friend or worse he may attack you with everything that he has."

Zuko looked at the map once more, "I've been preparing for the moment when I have to face him without holding back."

Iroh shook his head at how Zuko thought and walked out the room to leave him to ponder about what he has to do.

"I will defeat you and capture Avatar." He was determined not to let anyone get in his way.

XxX

(With Team Avatar)

Sokka was looking at the map with a tired expression, "You guys are kidding, right? You don't know where you're going right?"

Naruto grabbed the map and noticed that Sokka was right, "Wow. I honestly thought you guys would be able to read a map but I see that you can't." They were completely lost and off course.

Sokka grabbed the map back from Naruto's grasp, "Give me that! I got this." He knew what he was doing so he may as well lead them back on track.

Naruto put his hands up in defense, "Chill Sokka. You're the map guy I got it. We trust you with it." He would trust Sokka with the map because he knew that Sokka was smart enough to know how to navigate.

"Oh, thanks." Since he was a nonbender he felt like he needed to do his part. Even if his skills lacked a little Naruto helped him out a bit and he learned that he needed some serious practice.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and laid down, "Ah, now this is the way to live." Traveling was a pain in the ass but since they had Appa it was more exciting. This is why Naruto loved Appa. Appa was practically the most important member of the group. Without him, they would be walking everywhere.

He wished that their days would go smoothly like this. They haven't seen any signs of any firebender or Zuko's ship. So far so good. He doubted that this would last but he may as well enjoy it while they had the chance.

Naruto looked at Aang and noticed that he kept looking at Katara. Naruto had a few hints that Aang might have a crush on her but he didn't think it was true. But the way that he looked at her was really something, "Wacha doing katara?"

Katara continued sewing Sokka's pants without looking at him, "Just sewing." She was very concentrated on it and wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

Aang looked away when he saw that Naruto saw him looking at her. He didn't want Naruto teasing him about this so it was best that he didn't know. He looked at Momo who was on his shoulders and sighed. Momo was the new member of the team. He decided to keep the lemur that they had found back at the air temple. He still kept it away from Sokka because he may eat him behind his back.

Naruto smirked and crawled his way towards katara. She didn't even notice him move so it was easy for Naruto to sneak up on her. He bit her earlobe and licked it, "~Katara~"

She immediately slapped the person that was responsible for the feeling in her earlobe. Naruto went flying backward and his head hits Sokka's stomach, "W-what a-are you doing!?"

Naruto sat up and rubbed his cheek, "Damn woman! You sure know don't know how to hold back do you." That hurt more than he expected. If Katara was only a combat type he felt like she could destroy anyone with that strength.

Sokka held his stomach in pain, "Why am I always the one to get hurt here?" He honestly had nothing to do with anything and got still got hurt. Life was so unfair to him.

Naruto continued to rub his cheeks and smiled at her, "Well you looked bored so I thought I would entertain you a little. Want me to do it again? It would be my pleasure." He then stuck his tongue out and wiggled it at her.

Katara was still blushing at the contact that Naruto had made a while ago, "No! Oh god no!" That felt really weird and she hoped he never did that to her, "Please don't do that again."

Naruto made an 'Okay' sign, "I'll try but I make no promises." He then wiggled his tongue at her once again.

The pain had finally gone away and Sokka took a deep breath, "Naruto leave her alone. A girl needs her space when sewing."

Everyone got quiet for once Sokka had said that. Naruto himself knew what girls were capable of so he decided that he would stay out of this. He clapped his hands together and prayed for Sokka, "May Sokka rest in peace."

Sokka was confused at what Naruto was doing but was able to understand what he had done because he sensed some killing intent. He looked at Katara who was glaring at him, "Um... is it too late to say sorry."

Katara glared disappeared, "Oh yea sure! It's fine Sokka and here are your pants by the way!" Once she threw his pants the wind made it smash it on his face.

Sokka removed them and noticed that his pants still had a hole in it, "I can't wear these. Katara please!" Why did everything he says always backfire at him like this?

Naruto chuckled at him and crawled his way towards Aang to have a chat with him while the two siblings fight it out, "What's up Aang?"

"Nothing ready just thinking."

"Is it about water girl?" His grin got bigger when his cheeks began to blush. He winked at him and smirked, "So I hit the nail."

"Shut up." He turned his head so Naruto couldn't bother him anymore.

Naruto patted the boy's shoulder, "Don't sweat it Aang. How about I help you out?"

That caught Aang's attention real fast, "Really? What do you about love?" To Aang, Naruto didn't look like the type of guy to know anything about girls or love but that could just be appearance.

Naruto shrugged his shoulder, "Love? I don't know anything about it." He saw how Aang deflated, "But I can help you get on the right path."

Naruto wasn't one to know much about love but he knew how to pick up a girl. When he was young he usually hung out at bars and talk to a lot of people. He learned many things from then and one of those things were on how to get girls.

"Do you think I have a chance?"

Naruto looked at Katara, "Look at her. Beautiful one and a very confident one. Eyes as blue as the oceans. The personality of a perfect bride. She the one anyone would love to have." Aang smiled while staring at katara, "In fact maybe I should take her from you." He noticed Aang's glare at him, "Kidding. And no you don't have a chance."

Aang mouth opened at Naruto's blunt statement, "But you said-"

Naruto covered Aang's mouth, "Don't be so loud now. At the moment you don't but that doesn't mean you're out of the race. If I do this you will owe me a huge solid."

Aang nodded his head, "Thanks Naruto."

Naruto just grinned at him. He hoped he would be able to help the kid out because he was kind of hopeless at this stage. Is wrong to force Aang and Katara? Yes, it is. It's right if he helps develop the relationship in hopes that she may fall in love with him. He just hoped Aang had the confidence for the things that he would make him do.

"So where are we going now?" They've made many stops already and he hoped that they were headed to the North Pole already.

"We are going to go for a quick swim." A huge grin appeared on Aang, "Hold on!" Appa suddenly began to fly much faster.

After flying at full speed, Naruto noticed that there was an island in the distance. It was a crescent shaped island. Naruto smiled at the sight, it was beautiful indeed.

Sokka noticed that they were beginning to land, "Whats going on?" They were behind schedule and another pit stop was not something they needed at the moment.

As they landed, Naruto hopped off and stretched, "Relax ponytail. We're just taking a quick break." He wanted to be on the ground for a while because sometimes flying for a long time can make you miss the ground. Naruto began to pet Appa's head, "Thanks for the ride Appa. Here you go." He fed some fruits to Appa as a reward.

Katara was next to get off and noticed the scenery, " It's really beautiful here." It was really well kept.

Sokka wasn't really happy about it, "We can stop for a few minutes but we need to get back on track."

"Relax Sokka. I'm sure a warrior like yourself could use a break from all the map reading." Naruto tossed him an apple.

Sokka caught it and took a bite, "I do feel a little stiff. This is pretty good." Seems like buying these fruits wasn't such a waste after all.

Naruto took out beach chair from out of nowhere and set it up. No one really knew where he kept that because they were sure that he didn't have any equipment with him. Naruto just sat there and relaxed, "Now this is what I call a vacation."

Aang walked over to him and hoped for a few tips, "So how do I start?"

Naruto understood what he was saying and whispered a few instructions in his ears and let him be on his way. For Aang, a quick approach wasn't the way to go because the kid was shy to this kind of stuff and it would be obvious that he would mess up.

"Katara! Watch this." Aang took off his clothes and jumped into the water and began to swim towards the elephant koi. Aang dived underwater and was able to get a hold of the elephant koi. The giant fish leaped out the water while Aang was riding it.

Katara looked in amazement and waved at him, "Woo!"

Aang used his airbending so the fish can have more airtime and was able to do a few flips in the air before it dove under water once more. Naruto watched on and was actually impressed by what Aang was pulling out there. Seems like he wasn't as hopeless as he thought.

Aang began to spin underwater causing a whirlpool and created a whirlpool and was able to lift himself out of the water. He had let go of the fish so it wouldn't get hurt. He saw how Katara was looking at her in amazement. Naruto smiled while watching on. Aang was doing more than he told him to but it's whatever.

Aang waved while in the air and was beginning to drop back into the water. He looked below and saw a ginormous eel pop out of the water with its mouth opened, "Ahhh!"

Naruto hopped off his chair and ran next to Sokka, "Aang!Get back here! Now!" How was he supposed to know that he would disturb an Unagi?

Aang used his airbending to push himself out of the way just in time before the Unagi closed his mouth in hopes of eating him. Aang landed back in the water and began to swim as fast as he could. The unagi swam after him at high speeds.

One of Naruto's short swords appeared in his hand and he pulled the trigger causing the sword to fly in Aang direction. Naruto held to the pommel and tried his best to guide it. The short sword past Aang and struck the Unagi on the forehead causing it to stop in its tracks and shriek in pain. Naruto pulled the trigger which caused him to be pulled towards the Unagi.

The Unagi was squirming around trying to remove the sharp object that was on his forehead. Naruto was being pulled at high speed. He made a fist and began to put all the strength he had into it. The moment his fist touched the eels forehead, it flew miles back into the ocean.

Naruto was in mid air and was trying to recover. He noticed that his hand was bleeding from the force that he put into that punch, 'Guess I still need some more training' He dropped into the water and began to swim his way back. Once on shore he took off his black long sleeve shirt and began to dry it.

Sokka ran up to him with a shocked expression, "How did you do that!?" Punching a beast with like it was nothing was not normal.

Naruto continued to dry his shirt and just smiled at him, "Uh…Practice?" He saw Sokka's disappointed face and chuckled.

Aang was on the ground trying to catch his breath, "Thanks, Naruto. I almost died there." He thought he was a goner. That was one scary experience.

Naruto waved him off, "Now don't go showing off like that again or I may let him eat you next time." He wasn't expecting something like that to happen. He needed to be more on guard from now on.

Aang chuckled nervously, "You're joking right?" He noticed that Naruto's expression never changed, "Right?"

Katara walked next to Aang, "You should really be careful Aang. You could've been hurt. Naruto was almost hurt because of that too."

Naruto smiled at her worries. He felt a bit happy at that, "Awe, I knew you cared."

Katara put her hands on her hips and smirked at the blond, "We can't have our meat shield die on us yet."

And just like that, the feeling died away.

Aang lowered his head, "I know and I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I promise." He guessed that his attempt failed. He watched she walk off in Sokka's direction

Naruto nudged him in the rib, "Good job Avatar. She worried for you which means that you advanced a little."

Aang was a little confused, "Wait, you knew this was going to happen?"

Naruto shook his head violently, "What! No. How in the hell would I know that there was a giant eel out there!?" Honestly, why would Aang assume that he knew what lived out there? That son of a bitch better not be back or else he may be having some eel for dinner.

"So did I do good?" He thought that he had failed in impressing Katara.

"Yes and no." He noticed the look Aang was giving him, "I didn't do this so you can get her attention. I did this for you."

Aang grabbed his head in confusion, "Okay now I'm really confused." Naruto was making this hard to understand.

Naruto crossed his hand, "Let me explain. This was a lesson. Even If I didn't tell you to do what you did the chances were that you would have done it anyways."

"So what is the lesson?"

Naruto popped out his index finger, "Here's lesson number one. Don't try to impress a girl when it's not needed."

Impressing a girl is something most guys do but sometimes it's very unnecessary. Aang thought about it for a second and realized what Naruto was saying. How can you impress a girl that can already waterbend? You can't. She was impressive herself so impressing her wasn't the best approach.

Naruto noticed that Aang was in deep thought, "I think I got through you. Listen Aang, Katara is a very nice girl and by my observation, she isn't the type to be impressed and win her heart easily. That comes within time. She's a sweet girl and it's best to try other methods."

Aang nodded his head, "Okay. I trust you on this Naruto." He hoped that all of this would pay off in the near future.

"Hey you two! Let's go already." They've wasted too much time already and they needed to depart now. Sokka didn't want to waste any more time.

They both walked over to them and it seemed like they were ready to depart. Sokka showed the map as everyone gathered around him, "Okay if we leave now we can regain the time that we lost if we fly at full speed but we need to make it quick so let's go."

Before they had any time to react, four green-clad warriors fall from the trees and surround them. Katara was blinded when someone grabbed her hood and pulled her away. Aang looked back at where Katara once was and was pulled by his shirt. Sokka spun around and kicked the warrior that was trying to get him from behind.

Both Naruto and Sokka were back to back and were surrounded by the four warriors. Naruto looked around and whispered towards Sokka, "There may be more but I'm not sure."

Sokka nodded his head and made sure to keep his guard up. He may not be as strong as Naruto nor on par with any of the attackers but he wouldn't go down without taking a few out.

Naruto and Sokka blocked multiple incoming strikes that the enemy kept throwing at them. It was good to see that they only used hand to hand or they would have a harder time. Naruto used the handle of his short sword to hit one of them in the wrist which caused her fan to drop. He then spun around to kick her but noticed her beginning to duck. He lowered his kick to hit her on the side of her cheek causing her to smash into the ground.

"Naruto a little help!"

Naruto turned around and saw that Sokka was being overpowered. One of the warriors had a katana out. He had handed him one of his swords just in case of that but it seemed like he was struggling to handle it, "Coming!"

Sokka blocked yet another strike aimed for his arms. It seemed like they didn't want to kill him, only capture him. He's been observing where she would strike and none of them were killing blows. He thought that he could take her on but it seemed like he was getting his ass handed to him. Sokka was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't see the elbow aimed right for his stomach. He walked backward and held his stomach in pain. Now that he thought of it, he has never been in an actual fight before.

Naruto jumped and rolled on Sokka's back to get in front of him. He was able to grab Sokka boomerang and threw it in the air. He then began to counter the enemy's strikes. He noticed that her skills were really something but he had a lot more experience than her.

He felt a sharp cut on his cheek, "Seriously?" He let his guard down once again. He's been doing that a lot lately. He felt a few more cuts begin to appear on his body as the fight went along.

Sokka grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him away to take some of the clashes while Naruto took the other Kyoshi warrior that decided to join in. The both switched when they had the chance and at some point Sokka began to feel a few cuts appear on his body. He knew that he wouldn't last too grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and threw him to the side to, "Get back!" A sack was put over his head and was kicked in the knees causing him to fall to the ground, "A little more gentle please!" He was then dragged back to where Suki was.

Suki was a bit surprised that her fellow warriors were being pushed back like that. The one in the ponytail looked to be the least experience one while the blond held much more skills than anyone.

Naruto watched in horror as his friends were knocked out. Damn it. He honestly didn't expect to be saved like that from Sokka. He'll thank him later when he gets them all out of here. Maybe he should do use his secret weapon. It would be over faster. He noticed that one of them held Aang and was trying to get him to surrender or they would hurt him. Naruto sucked on his teeth. Aang being in such a position wouldn't allow him to use it.

"Let him go now."

Suki shrugged off the glare that the blond was giving her, "Then you better surrender right now." She wasn't one to like taking hostage but the way he handled himself meant that he was extremely dangerous, "We just want to take you in for questioning."

Naruto knew what kind of questioning they were going to do. He's been through a lot of 'Questioning' to know how killer it could be. Naruto looked up as another warrior tried to surprise him but was struck in the head when the boomerang that he threw earlier came back. Naruto watched her drop to the ground and held back his laughter. She got up and tried to attack him but it was very slow and sloppy.

Naruto grabbed her head in a headlock and kicked her in the stomach. He turned her over and had one of her arms in his grasp, "You better not do anything funny."

Suki now realized that they were both stuck in their positions. One couldn't let go of the other or there may be some problems.

Naruto began to back away slowly to kept his guard up so no one would strike him in the back, "You do anything to them and I may kill her."

The other three that were down stood up and didn't bother chasing them because their leader had said so. He had one of theirs but they had his friends, "Let's head back."

One of the Kyoshi warriors turned and looked at their leader in shock, "We can't just leave Yukko like that."

Suki was the leader of the Kyoshi warriors and was respect by them all. They followed her every order but even she knew that leaving one of their own was not like her, "Don't worry, as long as we don't hurt his friends he won't touch her."

They looked at each other before picking up the prisoners and making their way back to the village. They didn't like what they were doing but they trusted Suki. All they could do was hope that nothing would happen to Yukko. She hoped that Yukko wouldn't speak and start causing trouble.

XxX

(With Naruto)

Brown eyes opened to see a fire in front of her. Her vision was still blurry from the kick to her head and it still hurt. The pain was something that she was used to but that kid kicked her pretty hard. She took a look at her surrounding and noticed that she was tied to a tree. She saw a campfire in front of her and didn't see anyone around. He mouth was covered by a cloth so she couldn't call for help. She began to try to struggle her way out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She was suddenly spooked by the voice that came from behind the tree. She looked to her side and noticed that someone was walking over to her. She took his appearance and realized that he was the guy that they tried to ambush but failed. They had underestimated them and thought that it would be a walk in the park.

Naruto noticed how she was observing him, "Names Naruto. Nice to meet you." He was met with a glare. He chuckled at her, "No need to look at me like that. It will bring wrinkles to your pretty little eyes." He reached for her face but noticed that she was shaking.

He sighed and smiled at her, "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just going to take the cloth out of your mouth so you can talk. Okay?" She replied with a nod. Naruto removed the cloth from her mouth.

"You fucking bitch! I'm going to fucking kill you! What do you want from us!?"

Naruto was a bit surprised by the volume change, "Me? Nothing. I just want my friends back and I took you as a prisoner to make sure they don't get hurt." He didn't want to do this but if it meant that his friends had a higher chance of being unharmed then he would gladly do it. He didn't want to take the risk of them all being captured so he took one of theirs.

"Fucking liar! Why are the fire nation doing on this island!? We don't want to get involved with any of you!"

Naruto picked at his ear, "Can you please stop yelling? And cursing too?" He was reconsidering putting the cloth back in his mouth, "We're not with the fire nation by the way. If anything were on the run from them."

She was a bit surprised, "How do I know you're telling the truth?" He could be trying to deceive her so she could trust him.

"Remember that bald kid that was with us? Yea, he's the Avatar."

"That's impossible. The last Airbender's disappeared one hundred years ago." Oyaji, who was the leader of the village, had said that the Avatar was never seen ever again and was thought to be dead.

"Whether you believe me or not is up to you. I honestly don't care." He just wanted his friends again and to get the hell on outta here. Plus Appa was somewhere on the island all alone and scared.

He walked near the fire and began to wrap his hand. It got fucked really badly from the punch earlier. He wasn't expecting it to have such an effect by using his strength like that. He guessed that being stuck in that iceberg caused his body to weakened. He needed to get his shit together because he knew that this was going to be a long journey. He closed his eyes in hope of calming down a little.

"Get me out of here you bitch! I hope you die! You can go fuck yourself!"

Naruto sighed and tried his best not to get angry towards the girl. He hoped that the others were doing better than he was. He noticed that she kept trying to struggle and kept cursing at him. He honestly didn't expect her to have such a loud mouth. The other warriors talk with some decency but this one was more of a brat than he was.

XxX

(An Hour later with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Momo)

Sokka quickly opened his eyes and noticed that he couldn't see anything, "Katara! Help me! I think I'm blind!"

"No you Idiot! We were just kidnapped and you're blindfolded." She rolled her eyes beneath the blindfold. She sometimes wondered if Sokka really did have some problems.

Aang woke up and noticed that everything was dark, "Katara! Help me! I think I'm blind!"

Katara just sighed, "I can't believe you two!" 'Where's Naruto when you need him?' He was probably the only one that acted a bit mature in situations like this. She suddenly had an image of a chuckling Naruto, 'On second thought, maybe not.'

Their blindfolds were taken off and they were able to see where they were. They saw four girls in front of them and noticed that the whole village was looking at them. They were currently tied up on the statue of Avatar Kyoshi.

Sokka wasn't one to be happy when he got attacked, "Who are you? And why did you attack us?" It wasn't like they were doing anything to cause havoc.

Suki glared at him and walked over to him, "Where is she?"

Sokka tried to lift his hands in defense but was tied up, "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Your friend took one of our and we want her back." She Already felt bad enough that she let him get away. She hoped that Yukko was doing okay but knowing her she could handle herself. Unless her mouth gets her into trouble again.

"Does she mean Naruto?" Katara had realized that he wasn't with them since the beginning. She hoped that he would rescue them because she was sure her brother would stir up nothing but trouble.

An old man came up to Suki, "Calm down Suki. I'm sure she's fine." Oyaji was the leader of the village and tried his best to keep peace on the island but now that outsiders were on it, it may be dangerous to let them leave.

Sokka smiled at the gentle old man, "Excuse me, sir. You wouldn't mind letting us go because we have a schedule to keep up and you're kind of holding us back. No big deal if you don't but the fate of the world really depends on it."

Katara was surprised that Sokka was able to say something that wouldn't get them killed. Maybe his talk with Naruto had an impact on him. She has noticed that Naruto had been teaching him a few thing and maybe keeping a level head was one of them.

"Silence! Now tell us why you are here!?"

A tick mark appeared on Sokka's forehead, "Listen here grandpa! Let us go right now!"

Katara sweatdropped at his sudden rage. Maybe he needed more work on that.

Aang noticed the tension that was going on, "Stop!" Everyone turned and stared at him, "Don't blame them. It's my fault, I brought them here." He actually felt bad for them and didn't want his friends to get involved in his mistake. It was bad enough that Naruto was missing.

Oyaji didn't care anymore, "You know what nevermind. We never intended to get in the war and Kyoshi made sure of that."

Kyoshi would never have wanted the island to be tainted by the outsiders who just constantly kill each other over territory. They wanted to stay far away from it and now that some strangers managed to make their way onto the island it could mean trouble for them.

"Kyoshi? I know her, in fact, I am her." He smiled when he heard one of his past lives names. He was sure that can get them to trust him, "You see, I'm the Avatar."

Oyaji face was red in anger, "First you come in here to stir up trouble and now you lie about being one of our most sacred." They would be dealt with by the unagi.

Katara was starting to get scared, "Aang show them now, please."

Aang did as he was told and breaks the rope to get free. He shot himself over the statue of Kyoshi and landed safely. He noticed how everyone was in complete disbelief. He honestly hoped that that was able to convince them.

"It's true you are the Avatar." Oyaji had his mouth wide opened at the shock that the Avatar was right in front of him, "I'm very sorry to have doubted you."

Aang was a bit embarrassed at all the attention, "It's okay. I'm sure I would've done the same in your position." He understood why the elder acted like this. He wanted to make sure that his people were protected and away from harm.

Once they were free they were trying to figure out where they could find Naruto, "I'm not sure where he would go honestly." Katara was surprised that Naruto took a hostage for himself. It was smart but the people here seemed nice. It had been an hour since they been captured so Naruto could be anywhere on the island.

Sokka crossed his arms and turned away from the Kyoshi warriors, "This clearly shows you that these girls are nothing but a joke."

Suki didn't take his comment lightly, "Says the 'Warrior' that got himself captured so easily. If anything, the blond one put up a better fight than you did." Sokka put up a fight but it wasn't that impressive.

"Hey, I held myself pretty good out there. Naruto has no soul and can sense danger."

"Oh? I have no soul you say."

Everyone turned and saw Naruto walking towards them. He was holding Yukko on his shoulder. She was still tied up and was currently trying to escape his grasp. He also put the cloth over her mouth again to make her shut up.

Naruto threw the girl towards the warriors, "For fuck's sake, she's not even worth taking. Take her back please." She is the most annoying being he has ever met and that says something because he was annoying himself. She would not shut up the entire time she was tied up and on the way here she kept yelling in his ear. That why he put the cloth over her mouth again, "That bitch seriously needs a leash." She almost bit him too. What type of animals did they house around here?

Katara ran up to him and hugged him, "Naruto! I'm glad you're safe." It would be awful if they lost one of their own so early into their journey.

Naruto used one of his hands to return the hug, "Thanks for the lovely greeting water girl." Once she finished her hug, he fist bump with Aang, "How's it going monk boy?"

"Oh, nothing. Just found out this was Kyoshi's Island. She was an Avatar."

Naruto patted his head, "Good for you kiddo." He was glad Aang was able to find a place where he was accepted. He was sure that people were looking for him all over the world and most of them weren't friendly. It was nice to find a place where he was respected.

He noticed that Sokka was sulking all by himself, "What's wrong with him?" Naruto felt like everything bugged Sokka but that's Sokka for you.

"As you can see, he's still upset a bunch of girls were able to capture him." She found it ridiculous how her brother refused to admit that girls could be as strong as guys.

Naruto sighed at Sokka. Sokka was strange. He had a sense of justice that when he could do the right thing he would do it. But he also followed the stereotype rule that women did all the housework while men do the hunting and fighting. That practice was long dead but seems like Sokka still believed that how things worked.

Since his village was small he guessed that only the males had to do the hunting while all the females did the cooking. He can't blame Sokka because that's the way he grew up. He could understand Katara's frustration but even she needed to understand. They always fought because they could never see eye to eye.

Naruto walked over to Sokka and stared at him. After a while, Sokka got ever uncomfortable, "Why are you staring at me?"

Sokka was surprised when Naruto patted his back, "Don't sweat over it Sokka. You saved my ass and experienced your first real battle."

Sokka noticed how everyone looked at him, "I would've beaten them if I cou-" He was interrupted when Naruto put his hands on his shoulders.

"Now that you got your ass kicked and experienced the fear of fighting, you need to grow from this experience." Naruto understood Sokka's frustration because he went through the same shit as he's going through right now. He got beaten by girls in the past and it hurt. They kept beating him until he learned to dodge.

Sokka was about to say something but something about Naruto's facial expression made him lost for word. Naruto was right. He did get his ass kicked and as a warrior that was humiliating. His father always told him to respect yourself and admit when you lost. As long as he lives another day he can continue to make sure it never happens again, "Thanks." He then turned to the Kyoshi warriors, "I'm sorry for making fun of you."

He was proud of himself for being able to last the way he did. Naruto's lessons were helping him but today's defeat taught him that he needed to get much stronger.

Suki was helping Yukko out of the wires and was a bit shocked at the sudden apology. Since they captured him he's been nothing but a pain. He kept doubting that they took him down and even his sister had a hard time controlling him. She thought that she would have to beat him up at some point to get it through his thick head.

She looked on at the four and saw them surround the blond with smiles on their faces. They were laughing just like any normal person. She smiled knowing that the blond was the one that was somehow able to keep them at bay. He was able to understand his friends and quickly change their attitudes. She respected that.

"Suki!"

Suki shook her head to escape her thoughts and looked at Yukko, "Oh, I'm sorry." She had no idea that she had zoned out that long.

Yukko rubbed her arms and was finally happy that she was free, "I'm going to fucking kill that blond one day. You should've seen the way he handled me. It was no way to treat a lady." She was carried around like a lifeless rag doll. He held no care for her what's so ever and what's worse was that he ate right in front of her without offering him any. She was starving herself out there.

Suki sweatdropped at her calling herself a lady. Yukko was a probably the strangest person that she has ever met. She joined the Kyoshi warriors so that she can help protect her village and actually have an impact in saving people. What Suki never knew was that Yukko had a very special vocabulary. Suki told her to not say anything when she was in uniform so that she wouldn't cause any trouble. It worked for a while but seems like today's event caused all that practice to go to waste.

"It's okay Yukko he's not our enemy anymore." She hoped that she would calm down a little.

"To you guys but he will always be my enemy." She hissed towards Naruto and walked away.

Naruto, followed by the others, walked to the Kyoshi warriors, "Sorry about me kicking your asses back there." He felt kinda bad for beating some of them up.

Suki waved him off, "Don't worry about it. We were the ones who attacked first. And we did cut you up a little." It was a normal reaction to attack if one is being attacked, "I'm Suki by the way."

Naruto shook her hand, "Naruto Uzumaki. The greatest man you will ever meet."

Suki gave him a light-hearted laugh, "And I thought Sokka was the only one who likes to brag."

Naruto chuckled with her, "Can you tell Yukko that I'm sorry for taking her hostage?" She was annoying but he knew that he did the wrong in kidnapping her… and tying her up… and eating in front of her without offering her any. Wow, he was a terrible person.

"Sorry about her. She has a bit of a mouth but she's still one of us. We love her to death." She liked Yukko and respected her all together but she understood when people had come to her on some issues about her.

Naruto just waved her off, "Don't worry about it. I feel like we really bonded back there."

Suki gave him a nervous chuckle. She wasn't sure if he was serious or just joking, "Okay… enjoy your stay here and if you need anything me and the girls will be at the dojo."

Naruto smiled at her. He looked behind Suki and noticed Yukko in the distance, "Bye Yukko!"

"Fuck off!"

Naruto turned back to the group with a huge smile on his face, "See, friends."

Everyone around the blond sweatdropped.

XxX

The villagers had treated them like they were royalty. They led them to a huge building where they would stay. It was nice that they didn't have to sleep outside and they could relax instead of being alarmed all the time. Being the Avatar did have its good perks but that's something that they didn't really want to take advantage of.

Naruto wasn't one to be treated like he was a special guest because it made him feel like a royal asshole in a weird sense. He never liked it when people treated him like he was special. He was more of the type of guy who likes to be treated as any regular person so this was really new to him.

He saw that Aang enjoyed how they were treating him. He could understand because there were people out there who were hunting him down and wanted him dead. That can be a lot to him so he hoped that Aang would relax for once and have a peaceful time.

"Wow! This is really good." Sokka was stuffing himself with anything that his hands could reach. They had served them a table full of food and he was enjoying it.

"Watch yourself Sokka. We don't want you eating yourself to death." Naruto took a bite out of one of the buns that were on the table, "Oh wow." He could see why Sokka liked them so much.

"There good right." Aang enjoyed his food and what made it better was that it was desserts in there too.

Naruto nodded and finished his bun, "We can't stay here for very long."

Everyone stopped eating and looked at him. Aang swallowed his food and gave him a confusing stare, "You want to leave already?"

Naruto sighed, "Listen Aang, people are after you so we can't just stay here. When word gets out that you're here then they may come here to look for you."

Katara nodded her head at him, "You're right. We can't put people in danger so we can't stay long."

Naruto knew the dangers that surrounded anyone who was involved or close to Aang. The Fire Nation was a brutal bunch so he could only imagine what they would do to this small town of people here. It made Naruto shiver thinking about it.

Aang frowned and looked at his food, "I know… but can't we just stay here for a while. I kind of feel welcomed for once."

A sight came from the blond. Naruto knew the reason why Aang was saying that. He never wanted to be the Avatar and anytime anyone knew he was they would attack him. The Avatar was a fugitive in this time and that made him feel scared for his life. It wouldn't be so bad for Aang to learn to like his title.

Naruto was petting Momos head and smiled, "Okay Aang. We can stay for a few days but after that, we seriously need to go."

Katara looked at him and smiled. She knew that Naruto cared for Aang's well being and would spoil Aang here and there. She understood Aang's situation and it was sweet that Naruto always tried to make it so Aang could feel a normal kid.

Aang smiled, "Thanks Naruto." He really appreciated when he got time to just being himself.

Sokka rubbed his stomach and burped, "Oh god that was good." He felt like he could die happy and have no regrets, "I'm going to go walk around and find something to do in the meantime."

Naruto chuckled as Sokka wobbled out of the room, "Stuffed himself full and feels like he's in heaven." Sokka was very easy to please especially when you fed him, "So what do you guys have planned today?"

Katara stood up and dusted herself off, "I'm going to get some supplies at the market so we will have something to eat during our trip."

Naruto waved her off as she left the room, "How about you Aang?"

Aang stood up and walked over the window. He leaned on it and stared at the Kyoshi statue, "I'm sure I'll find something."

Naruto walked next to him and sat on the wooden window sill, "Don't worry about it Aang." Aang did his best to hide his fear of what may become of him but Naruto knew when a person seemed troubled.

Aang sighed at being found out, "I'm scared." He couldn't hide it any longer, "I don't want the other to know."

Naruto smiled at him, "Nothing going to happen Aang. I can promise you that. You won't do this alone so don't worry about being left behind."

Aang knew that Katara, Sokka, and Naruto were there for him but he sometimes feared what may happen to them. They could be hurt or can possibly die. So many things could go wrong that would make him to insane if any of those actually happened.

"Don't let it get to you Aang. To others, you may be the Avatar but to us your Aang." Naruto heard screaming below them, "Looks like you have a fan club."

Aang blushed at the attention that he was getting, "I'll catch you later Naruto."

Naruto watched as Aang walked out of the room and then looked at the sky, "So many things can go wrong but I won't allow anything to happen to you. Any of you." He sighed and got lost in his own thoughts.

XxX

(The next day)

Naruto was petting Appa and was brushing his fur. Appa was enjoying himself at being treated so nicely. Naruto smiled at the large creature, "Okay boy, I'm going to go walk around." Appa growled in sadness which made Naruto chuckled, "I'll make sure to get you some food."

With that, Naruto walked away. He was actually enjoying his stay in the village and what made it even better was that hey we're throwing a party for Aang tonight. Aang was obviously happy about that. As he walked around he noticed that every villager was pitching in to make sure that it went well.

As he passed by a dojo he noticed Sokka on the floor. Wait what? Naruto walked backward towards the entrance and rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was true, "Wow Sokka, I didn't know you were going for a rematch."

Suki greeted him with a smile, "He didn't come in here for a rematch, he came for some lessons." She was more than happy to help him since he asked very nicely.

Sokka had stormed in yesterday with a scowl on his face. Suki was ready to tease him but was shocked to see him on his knees. He had asked her to help him train because he didn't want to be a burden to the rest of the team.

She was lost for words because it was completely unexpected. She had gotten him to wear their traditional armor which by the looks of his face didn't set well with him. He was learning a bit faster than she expected but he still had a long way to go.

Naruto chuckled at Sokka, "Sheesh Sokka, if you wanted more training why not ask me?" He taught him a few things already so why not ask for more.

Sokka was on the floor and looked up towards him, "Well I want to beat you one day and I can't have you teaching me things that can put me at a disadvantage."

"Better keep at it because you're still behind me." A grin appeared on his face when he saw Sokka's angry face, "I'm just kidding but you seriously need to work on your footwork the most."

"You sure talk big don't you?"

Naruto crossed his hands, "Well I do like to think of myself as a high-class fighter." He wasn't is the best form just yet. He still needed some work but he was up there.

The Kyoshi warriors behind Suki stepped back to give her some room, "Care to show me your high-class moves."

"Oh is that a challenge."

Sokka crawled away because he noticed the tension between them. Everyone gave them space in the room for their match. Suki took out her fans and got into her fighting stance. She was prepared for anything that the blond might throw at her.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "Come on now Suki I was just jo-" He tried to lift his hands in defense but his forearm found itself clashed with her wrist to stop her attack, "That was rude."

Suki stood in silence for a few seconds, "I came at you at full speed…" She was shocked that he was able to react fast enough to block her.

Naruto was a bit surprised by her statement. That was her at full speed? He must be regaining his skill with his nightly training. He's been training when the others were asleep and he's been improving each day. He thought he was behind but it seems like he's getting his strength back.

Yukko stepped out of line, "Come on Suki beat his ass already!" If she wasn't going to do it then she would take care of it herself.

Suki sighed and smiled, "No, I know when I'm outmatched. You're good."

Sokka ran next to Naruto with his mouth hanging open, "Naruto! You're incredible." Sokka gave credit when credit was due. Naruto was able to stand up to Zuko and was able to take some of the Kyoshi warriors down.

Naruto scratched his head at the praise, "Thanks." He wasn't used to being praised but he accepted it gracefully.

Sokka pushed him out the door, "Okay now get out and let me train." If he was planning to beat Naruto in the future he couldn't let him see what he had up his sleeve.

Naruto let himself be dragged out, "Later Suki. Later girls. ~Bye Yukko~." Naruto smiled when he saw her flip him the bird, "Such a sweetheart." With that, he exited the building.

Sokka face turned serious, "Suki?"

"Yea?" She was surprised by his sudden change of tone.

"I want to be able to hit him."

Suki nodded her head towards him, "Me too but if you're going to do that then you need to listen to everything I tell you."

Sokka turned his head, "Let's get started."

Suki noticed the determination in his eyes and was feeling a bit pumped herself. That was indeed her fastest strike and was shocked that Naruto blocked it. If Sokka really wanted to beat Naruto then he had to get better than her because she wasn't able to lay a hand on him.

She clapped her hands, "Okay girls let's get back to training. That includes you Sokka."

Sokka walked over to them and prepared himself. He wanted to be as good as Naruto and protect those around him. He may not be as good but he hoped that he could improve himself.

Naruto walked around the market and was pleased when people greeted him as he walked by. People were so nice to him but he wondered if it was because he was Aang's friend or they were happy to see him. Didn't matter to him either way. He rubbed his forearm and hissed in pain. He may have blocked her attack but that didn't mean he blocked the effects of it. It hurt like a bitch. In reality, she could beat him if they actually fought. It was by pure luck that he blocked her attack.

He noticed that Katara was walking around the market and was picking up a few vegetables. She must still be trying to buy supplies. He smoothly walked over to her, "Sup water girl."

Katara wasn't surprised that he had appeared next to her, "Oh hey."

Naruto noticed her dry reply and figured something must have been up, "What's got you in the clouds?"

Katara continued to look around, "Nothing really. I just don't want Aang to let this whole Avatar thing get to his head."

Naruto knew what she was saying because ever since yesterday he had been going to hang out with those little girls and enjoying himself. He was completely under the spell of his new found fame, "Don't let it get to you. He's just enjoying himself."

Katara sighed. He was right. She should let Aang enjoy the time he has before things get more chaotic, "I know I'm just worried that if he gets glued to this place they might come for us."

"Don't worry water girl, I'll protect you when the time calls for it." He dodged when she threw a potato at his head, "Oi! That cost money you know!"

"Who said I need protection from anyone?" She was a grown girl and she could handle herself, "I don't need an old man like you watching my back."

Naruto held his heart in mock pain, "Right through the heart. Brutal as always water girl."

"Hey guys!"

Both of them turned and saw Aang walking towards them. They noticed the happy aura that was hanging around him. They looked behind him to see the little girls waiting for Aang.

Aang looked at the two, "What are you two doing?"

Naruto put his arm around Katara and grinned at him, "As you can see we're on a dat-ugh!" he was elbowed by Katara, "Sure don't know how to hold back do you?"

Katara crossed her arms, "Hmph! Like I would." Naruto never knew when to give up on his games, "Are you ready for tonight Aang?"

A huge smile formed on Aang's face, "Am I ever! I can't wait!." He was excited for the party that they were throwing for him tonight.

Naruto recovered from Katara's elbow attack and cleared his throat, "Good for you kiddo. Just reminding you that we may leave tomorrow of the day after." He noticed Aang's smile turned into a frown.

"Yea about that… can we stay a bit longer?" He was enjoying himself for the first time in a while and didn't want to go so soon

"Aang we can't stay here any longer than we already have." She was already feeling a bit cautious that they stayed the night.

"Come on Katara I like it here. I feel welcomed instead of threatened." Plus he did like the attention that he was getting.

"Water girl was right, you did let it get to your head." Naruto didn't believe a monk was capable of letting a little fame and attention overpower him.

Aang waved them off, "I'm not letting it get to my head…" He was perfectly normal, "Wait don't tell me you're jealous?"

Katara was a bit taken back by his statement, "Jealous? Of what?"

Aang had a sly smile on his face, "That I'm having more fun than you."

Naruto took this opportunity to have a bit of fun. He moved behind Katara and added a bit more wood to the fire, "Damn Katara, He said you're boring."

Katara clenched her hands, "What! Boring! I'm having more fun that you!"

Naruto moved on and was immediately next to Aang and snapped his fingers, "Oh no she didn't, she saying you ain't on her level. What are you going to do Aang?"

Aang was starting to get a little agitated, "Well I'll be over there with the girls and taking a trip with Appa. We're going to have twice as fun as you." He stomped away.

Naruto was once again next to Katara, "Damn he said you still below him water girl."

Katara gave him a glare, "You're not helping here Naruto." He made things much worse than they needed to be.

Naruto waved her off, "Don't worry he won't stay mad for long. He has a thing for you so you're fine." The last sentence was said in a quiet tone.

"What was that?"

Naruto turned around suspiciously, "Won't stay mad?"

"No after that."

Naruto chuckled nervously, "Oh look corn!" He then immediately ran away from her. He bit his tongue at almost revealing Aang's secret. It was his to confess not him.

Katara watched the blond as he made his way across the market. She saw him hit a pole on the way and made her laugh a little. Naruto may be the weirdest persons she has ever met.

XxX

(That night)

Naruto was filling his mouth with as many things that he could. He was practically breathing in the food. He was enjoying himself at the welcoming party for Aang. They had set up a table in front of the Kyoshi statue. It was like a festival and they were in the important people table. He felt good. They even had a bonfire in the middle while some dance around it.

"Everyone, listen up!" All the attention was now on Oyagi, "I'm sorry to disturb you but I would just like to say that after years of waiting for a new Avatar to show up we have been blessed with a visit from the one himself. We are here to celebrate the coming of Avatar Aang!" The crowd looked at Aang and cheered for him.

Aang grinned and waved at them. He felt weird getting so much attention from everyone and he was really liking it. Maybe being the Avatar wasn't so bad.

"Naruto calm down and leave some for me!" Sokka was trying to get his share of food but Naruto was too fast and was eating most of it.

Katara watched in disgust as her brother and Naruto made a mess of everything, "You guys need to calm down."

Aang was sitting next to her and was eating quietly. He didn't want to say anything because he felt that Katara was still mad at him. Naruto noticed the tension between and kinda felt bad. He felt like it was somehow his fault. He didn't know why but it just did.

Naruto noticed how some people surrounded the bonfire that they had made and danced to the music, "Yo, why don't you two go dance Aang?" He had a hard time talking with food in his mouth.

Aang wasn't in the mood to do anything, "I'm not in the mood."

Naruto cleared his throat to get Katara's attention, "I wonder if there's a lovely lady out there who has no partner to dance with!"

Katara took it as a hint to go and try to clear everything out with Aang, "How about it Aan-"

"Yes!"

Everyone on the table was a bit shocked by sudden reply. Katara stood up and grabbed Aang's hand, "let's go."

Sokka bit down on a piece of meat, "I don't know how you do it." He felt like everything always worked out when Naruto was involved.

Naruto looked on and watched them with a mouth full of food. They were killing the happy mood and he wanted them to make up already because it was killing the fun. He began to shove more food.

"Dammit Naruto! That's my plate you!" Sokka was competing with Naruto at this point in who could eat more.

Katara and Aang were trying their best to dance but it was a bit awkward for them because they felt like the other was still mad at them.

"Listen Aang I'm so-"

"I'm sorry." Aang was able to beat her to the punch, "I didn't know what was going through my head."

He's been going through a lot of mental battles with himself and let all this attention get to him. It felt so good to be accepted by regular people. He finally understood that no matter how many people accept him his three friends were there for him before anyone.

Katara smiled, "I'm sorry too. Now let's enjoy ourselves." Now that she thought of it Naruto was the one that made it worse.

Naruto stopped eating for a few seconds, "Why do I feel like something bad might happen while I'm sleeping."

Sokka shrugged his shoulders, "Less talk more eat."

"So how about you and Suki. You two seem to be hitting it off." Naruto was quite curious about their relationship. It started a bit bumpy but what he saw at the dojo they seemed chill around each other.

Sokka choked on his food and proceeded to spit it all out, "Why? Did she say anything?" He looked around to see if she was eavesdropping on them.

Naruto laughed, "No but I'm sure I have a clue on what you think of her." He liked that the whole team was relaxing.

Sokka turned his head and hid his blush, "Naruto?"

"Mmm?"

"You're not a normal person are you?"

Naruto gave him a lazy smile and sighed, "What make you say that?"

"I may not be the smartest guy around but I do know that a normal person wouldn't be able to fight like you do. Who are you?"

Sokka had been a bit suspicious around Naruto ever since the fight with Zuko. Naruto wasn't scared since he woke up and looked like he was used to being lost and in danger. Naruto knew his way around a fight and knew when to strike. Sokka may not be the best when it came to fighting but even he could spot someone who knew more than him.

It wasn't a guess either. It was obvious that Naruto had been hiding something from them. When Aang went into his Avatar state he didn't seemed fazed by any of it. It was like all of this danger and fear was normal to him.

A sad smile appeared on Naruto's face, "I'm someone you want on your side."

Sokka looked at Naruto, "I'm warning you Naruto. I respect you as a friend but don't do anything that may put my sister or Aang in danger."

Sokka didn't hate Naruto by any means. It was nice to have someone on the team that didn't have any bending. It made him feel like he belonged. During their short travel, he learned to respect Naruto as a friend but he had this feeling like Naruto was hiding something.

Naruto leaned his head on his palm, "Listen Sokka. I'm here to protect all of you and will do anything to make sure Aang, you and Katara stay alive. All I ask is that you trust me." Naruto knew that Sokka was paying attention because he had stopped eating, "It's fine if you're suspicious but I will never let any serious harm come to any of you. I promise that."

They both sat there in silence. Naruto couldn't read Sokka's expression nor could he predict what he was thinking. They didn't say a word for a couple of minutes.

"Okay. I'll trust you." Naruto hadn't done anything that would put them in danger yet. He's fought with them and made sure that they would stay safe. He even kidnapped someone for them. Sokka noticed Suki walking around in her armor and stood up, "Suki!"

Naruto watched Sokka run up to her. He knew Sokka was keeping an eye on him this whole time but was surprised that had said something a bit sooner than he expected. He was actually impressed by his observation skills. He knew that this was going to be a dangerous journey and he would do his best to protect them. They have a choice to do what they want and he will help them accomplish their goals. Naruto started petting Momo and looked at the moon with a sad smile.

"I never had a choice to begin with."

* * *

 **And there you have it. Not much going on here just building their relationships for reason that only I know off. You don't even know half of it, Bwahaha!**

 **I hope you enjoyed it. Like always review and criticism are always welcomed here.**


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